By Robert Channick
Chicago Tribune
Chicago native Scott Zabielski will be able to fly first class after winning the $1 million grand prize in the Doritos Super Bowl ad contest.
His homemade spot, “Middle Seat,” received the most fan votes and aired during the game Sunday night.
The runner-up spot, “When Pigs Fly,” also ran during the Super Bowl, netting creator Graham Talbot $50,000. Ten finalists competed in the Doritos’ ninth annual “Crash the Super Bowl” online contest.
“ ‘Middle Seat’ is creative, bold and original, representing everything the Doritos brand and our ‘Crash the Super Bowl’ contest is about,” Ram Krishnan, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Frito-Lay North America said in a statement. “Rising to the top among nearly 4,900 competitors from all over the world is no easy feat.”
Zabielski, a reserve deputy for L.A. County and a producer of “Tosh.0" on Comedy Central, was raised in suburban Long Grove and Naperville and lives in Los Angeles.
The 30-second commercial, created in two weeks for $2,000 and with a little help from his friends, humorously depicts an air passenger going to great lengths to keep the middle seat empty until he finds the right traveling companion.
The 10 finalists all attended Super Bowl XLIX and watched the game from a private suite, where they learned who won the contest as commercials aired.
Zabielski’s spot was chosen as the grand prize winner through an online vote, earning him $1 million and a job at Universal Pictures in Hollywood. The runner-up spot was selected by the Doritos team. The eight finalists whose commercials didn’t air during the broadcast each won $25,000.
Both homemade Doritos spots did well from a creative standpoint, earning a B grade in the annual Kellogg School Super Bowl Advertising Review.
NBC charged $4.5 million per 30-second spot for the Super Bowl XLIX broadcast from Glendale, Ariz. On Monday, NBC Sports said the Patriots’ close victory over the Seahawks delivered a 49.7 overnight rating, the highest in Super Bowl history.
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