Burbank man wins top prize in Doritos’ Crash the Super Bowl ad contest
The annual Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest, which allows fan-created spots a chance at airtime during the big game, ended its 10-year run Sunday. For the fourth consecutive year, the contest’s grand prize winning spot has a Burbank connection.
John Burroughs High School graduate Jacob Chase, 29, was the director of the top ad, and the second consecutive Burbank-based director to win the $1-million prize and a “dream job” in Hollywood. He co-wrote the spot with Travis Braun, a Burbank resident who also wrote and directed one of the 10 finalists in last year’s competition.
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Tuesday, after “quite a long day” Monday in New York for media appearances, Chase said winning “feels absolutely incredible.”
The Burbank duo’s 30-second ad features a trio of dogs who learn a new trick — how to disguise themselves as human — to get their paws on the snack chips at a grocery store. The three “Doritos Dogs” stack themselves on each other’s shoulders and don a rain coat and hat to bypass the store’s vigilant manager.
The ad aired during Super Bowl 50 to an audience of millions and was ranked fourth in USA Today’s Ad Meter, in which panelists vote for their favorite ads.
Among the canines featured is Chase’s white terrier named the Miz. It also showcases the handiwork of his mother, Maxine Chase, a Burbank resident who did some sewing work on the dogs’ costume. It was filmed in Redlands on a budget of around $1,000.
Another finalist, “Ultrasound,” by Australian director Peter Carstairs, placed third in the Ad Meter rankings, but generated lots of buzz on social media, both from pro-abortion groups complaining about its depiction of an unborn baby and anti-abortion groups praising it.
Ultimately, the contest winner was determined by fan votes online, which earned Chase the grand prize of $1 million and a chance to collaborate with Zack Snyder, director of “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” while working with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment.
Chase doesn’t yet know what project he’ll be working with Snyder on, and he said he’s been getting other calls that he hopes pan out to future opportunities, but the immediate life-changer will be the cash, which he said he will split with some of his collaborators and use to pay student loans and rent while “continuing to pursue my dreams.”
Carstairs and the third finalist, Los Angeles director David Rudy, each earned $100,000 and an opportunity to work on a Doritos “gig” in the future. The three finalists, selected by a panel of judges from about 4,500 submissions from 28 countries, also attended the Super Bowl in San Francisco.
The competition, which began in 2006, has been a showcase for talented Burbankers in recent years. The grand-prize winner last year was Burbank resident Scott Zabielski, whose ad starred his 13-month-old son, Jack. Daved Wilkins starred in and co-wrote the winning ad in the annual contest two years ago, and the year before that, a local dog named Yoda starred in one of the finalist ads.
All three of this year’s are online at doritos.com.
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Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com
Twitter: @chadgarland
