While the votes were being counted in the nationwide Heinz ketchup commercial contest, Marietta's Daniel Trumble was living out an old ketchup campaign slogan: "An-ti-ci-pa-a-tion."

"Ohmigosh, the anxiety!" Trumble said. "It was torturous waiting. Donna (Davis, his partner) and I both said, 'We wish we could find out the answer so we could concentrate on getting our work done.'"

DANIEL TRUMBLE / Special

A commercial starring Eslen Trumble, 4, and her 2-year-old sister, Madalo, made the top five in Heinz's nationwide contest.

Marietta family competes for top Heinz video Recent headlines: [an error occurred while processing this directive]    • Cobb County news

They finally received good news: The commercial featuring Trumble's two young daughters made the Top 5, winning $5,700 and national television appearances in the coming months.

The 30-second spot called "Life Lessons," in which 4-year-old Eslen imparts words of wisdom to her 2-year-old sister Madalo, missed out on the $57,000 top prize.

"We're happy, but we could have used the (grand prize) money," Trumble said.

"Maybe Top 5 will still give us the spot on the map that we're needing as a small production company getting some national attention."

Voters in the online contest chose the entry called "Now We Can Eat," submitted by Matt Cozza of Chicago, from among 10 semifinalists.

In Cozza's commercial, a couple sits down at a restaurant table that doesn't have a bottle of Heinz ketchup. A server swings by and drops off a bottle, prompting the slogan "Now we can eat."

Eric Michael Hopper of Buford was also named a runner-up for his "Heinz Generations" entry. The montage shows Heinz ketchup being enjoyed through the years. It also features a song written and sung by Hopper, an aspiring country music star.

There were more than 2,000 qualified entries in the Heinz "Top This" TV Challenge Take Two.

"The winning ad visually represents America's love of the thick, rich taste of Heinz Ketchup, and shows that no table is complete without it," David Ciesinski, vice president for Heinz Ketchup, said in a statement. "We're excited for Matt and for all the finalists, whose passion and creativity is inspiring."

The commercials will air nationally this spring and summer on the Food Network, Fine Living Network and on closed-circuit TV at Six Flags theme parks nationwide.

Trumble said Eslen had been asking for a house as her fee for appearing in the commercial. He negotiated that down to a scooter.

He also said Eslen's showing interest in doing more commercials.

"She did a really great job and we'll see where it goes," he said. "It's kind of a wild card for a wild girl."