Best Friends Get Game Winning Touchdown In Doritos' 'Crash The Super Bowl' Contest

The winners of Doritos' "Crash the Super Bowl" contest have been announced, showcasing the incredible creativity and boldness of people who dreamed big.

After months of submissions and fierce competition, the winning team has earned the chance to have their commercial aired during the biggest game of the year, an all-expense paid trip to New Orleans for the Super Bowl, and $1 million.

Dylan Bradshaw and Nate Norell know what it takes to be a big winner! The two best friends and co-directors used their creativity and humor to win big in the Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" contest. Out of thousands of submissions, theirs came out on top to take the winning position thanks to fan votes.

Their commercial, “Abduction,” will air during the first quarter of Super Bowl LIX this Sunday as the brand’s 25th Super Bowl advertisement. In addition to that exciting moment, the two also won an all-expense-paid trip to New Orleans to attend the game, and $1 million. 

The two friends, who share a passion for storytelling, joined forces to win this big honor. Bradshaw, a Los Angeles based director, left Columbus, Ohio to move to LA in 2020 with no job, but a big dream. Norell, born in the Dominican Republic, found a love for filmmaking at the age of 16 and earned a Cinema and Media Arts degree from Biola University. 

“This year’s Crash the Super Bowl contest winner, Abduction, is the ultimate embodiment of Doritos’ For the Bold ethos. They truly pushed the bounds of creativity and their Abduction ad” Tina Mahal, senior vice president of marketing at PepsiCo Foods North America said. “We can’t wait to showcase their vision on the biggest stage in advertising, as we know the spot will inspire our fans to continue stepping outside of what is expected.” 

The idea for the winning commercial spawned from a brainstorming session and a “passion for science fiction.” 

“We brainstormed over 50 ideas, and thanks to my passion for science fiction, we eventually found our way to the alien abduction idea,” Bradshaw exclusively told The Blast. “We workshopped it with a couple of friends who are also filmmakers, and everyone just loved it the most. From there, we doubled down on the idea and added in some of the slapstick humor - like the ‘tug of war’ and the UFO splitting in half - to get our final product.” 

The process of creating the winning submission took about a month for the two friends and their crew. 

“We spent about a week and a half writing and coming up with ideas, so once we landed on the alien abduction idea we quickly moved into pre-production, shooting the mockup, building our crew, location scouting, prepping all the creative and more,” Bradshaw continued. “We had one overnight shoot up in a cabin in the mountain with a real practical set with wardrobe and props, and from there dove straight into editing and VFX for about two weeks. We ended up submitting the commercial with just an hour and a half left until the deadline.” 

When the friends found out they won the contest, they “flipped out.” 

“It was just so awesome to see all of our hard work, time, and sacrifice come to fruition, and it validated that everything was worth it,” Bradshaw told The Blast. “Not only the work we put into the campaign and commercial, but all the work for everything we learned from Zach [King], our past projects, and in college and high school. This has had a massive impact on my perspective of what it means to work hard and give something your all.” 

This wasn’t the first time they’ve entered a contest. They said they have done some “documentary competitions and film contests” in the past, but this was the “first contest of this magnitude we’ve ever entered.” 

This is the first time Bradshaw and Norell are attending the Super Bowl and they are excited for the experience. 

“Football games are so fun and there’s always so much energy, and I’m also super excited for Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show,” Norell said. “I grew up watching football, my dad taught me all of the rules so now I love it and think there’s nothing more exciting than a touchdown.” 

As far as the other part of their prize - $1 million - they are ready to make it count.

“We are going to reinvest into our careers and future projects, and make sure it leaves a long and positive impact on both of our lives,” Bradshaw said. “We’d also like to donate a portion to charities that Nate and I are both super passionate about.”  

Both Bradshaw and Norell have had a love for film since a young age. They both knew early in life that this was something they wanted to do as they got older.

“I fell in love with film at a young age and decided to pursue it in college and study cinema media arts for four years,” Norell shared. “I ended up working with Zach King as a camera operator, then producer, and then director. We needed some extra help at the studio, and I had just met Dylan at my 25th birthday party and I knew he had a good, upbeat energy so I called him up and he was stoked and willing. We ended up bringing him on for two more weeks, and those two weeks turned into five years.”

Bradshaw added, “I’ve also loved filmmaking since I was a kid, and my parents always encouraged me to be creative. I got a camera in middle school and was always making stuff that I showed throughout high school that encouraged me to keep going.” 

He went to UNCW to study film and after graduation, moved to LA. It was during his first week there that he met Norell.