It's been called the "American Idol" of advertising and, watching Jason McDonell's presentation, that held true in more ways than one. McDonell showed live footage of the finalists in the Doritos ad
competition as they watched the game in a bar, waiting to see which of the five top user-generated ads would air during the big game. As the winners learned of the results, the newly anointed Super
Bowl creatives erupted with shrieks, cries, hugging -- a demonstration of glee more often seen on reality shows than the business world. Of course, the contest had much in common with those reality
shows. From "Idol" to "Project Runway" to "America's Next Top Idol" such programs feature amateurs hoping to be recognized as good enough to be professional. Doritos seems to have realized that simply
challenging consumers to try to create something as good as the work of paid professionals is enough to motivate them -- even without televising the entire competition.
