I just finished reading “Dogs steal the show, for now,” the USA Today’s write up of last night’s Super Bowl ads. As a jack-of-all-trades designer in the advertising/marketing industry (print, web, and video), I am disappointed by the disservice Doritos (and the article) has done to the advertising industry and the skills of the people who work hard to build successful brands. There are a few glaring oversights which Doritos failed to address. In the article, Doritos is quoted saying this:

Doritos basically implies that you could pluck any Joe Shmoe off the street and create advertisements that compete with, and out-do, those made by industry professionals. Not likely. As someone in the business, I take this as an enormous slap in the face, and so, my aim is to deconstruct this statement.

I, in fact, have a handful of friends across the country who had submitted different entries to the Dorito’s Crash the Super Bowl contest. But here’s the catch: they were, in fact, industry professionals. Not only that, but there videos were made by a team of professionals. I watched enough of the Dorito’s submissions to know that there was a very obvious line between videos made by amateurs and videos made by professionals. By no means was the winning spot made by an amateur. A quick Google search reveals that Friedman is a director and is currently working on a feature film. (Kevin WIllson, the man behind the #4 Dorito’s sling baby submission, is also ai professional director.) So, yeah, I guess you DO have to be a professional filmmaker to compete with the big dogs. But thank you Doritos, for insinuating that just about anybody could do our job.

I also think its unfair to say that Mr. Friedman only invested $20 in this project, which might have prompted readers to question why other companies spend $3.5 million (with advertising agencies) on Super Bowl spots. Well, I think its safe to say that $20 is a gross exaggeration. What about camera equipment? Editing equipment? How about the hours of work it took Friedman to film, edit and compose this piece? Isn’t his time an investment too? You’ve given the impression that its as easy as buying a bag of doritos and burying a few dog treats in the ground. What about this man’s years of directorial experience? What about the number of hours spent in an editorial bay? What about the hours spent sound mixing? What about the number of hours spent promoting these videos across social media, or even developing websites just to promote the entry in the contest? After considering all of this, do you still think it was a simple as spending $20 and spending an hour in the backyard?

Doritos, there’s a reason why didn’t you just hire your “amateur” cousin’s daughter’s boyfriend to make your Super Bowl spot. It’s because there are professionals in this industry, and we know what we’re doing.

(Source: USA Today)