Local producer a finalist in Doritos Super Bowl ad contest
An Atlanta TV producer created a Doritos ad that is vying for one of two spots during next month’s Super Bowl, a potential $1 million prize and a chance to participate in the making of the movie “The Avengers: the Age of Ultron.”
The ad, one of five in the running, features an office boss who believes either an ostrich or a human employee has eaten all the Doritos in the break room. The twist: The ostrich didn't do it — and the human blames him as the bird gasps. You can see the ad at www.doritos.com.
Eric Haviv of Atlanta-based FUGO Studios put the ad together.
“I’ve always loved animal humor and office humor,” said Haviv, 30, a Dunwoody resident. “I decided to combine the two.”
This is the second year a metro Atlantan has been one of the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” finalists, and the second time the commercial featured an animal. Last year, it was Decatur’s Ben Callner who made a commercial about a Doritos-obsessed goat.
Haviv found ostriches especially funny animals, so he went to Bird Brain Ostrich Farm in North Carolina to find his extra. The ostriches were terrified by the cameras and green screen he took with him and failed to cooperate. After eight hours of work, the team had zilch, so the team filmed the gigantic birds on the farm and digitally inserted an ostrich into the ad.
He used local professional actor Robin Bloodworth to play the boss and his non-acting roommate and attorney Brett Friedman to be a Doritos-gobbling worker who blames the bird for the disappearing snacks. Final cost of the video: $800 (not counting all the free labor).
The ad will appear if fans vote it into the final two. You can vote until Jan. 29 at www.doritos.com. Stan Lee, whose many contributions to the world of comic book heroes include the Avengers, was one of the folks who helped pick the final five and called each of the finalists to let them know.
Win or lose, Haviv gets to attend the game Feb. 2 in East Rutherford, N.J., and watch from a private luxury suite.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
