StarBulletin.com

Finalist in ad contest boasts ties to Hawaii


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POSTED: Thursday, January 28, 2010

A former North Shore resident with Hawaii ties is one of six finalists in the fourth annual Doritos “;Crash the Super Bowl”; commercial contest.

Alana Littler, 30, formerly of Haleiwa, and her boyfriend, Brendan Hayward, 32, teamed up to produce “;The Smackout.”;

It's a 30-second spot in which two guys slap each other in the face, after agreeing that the first one to flinch will make a run for more Doritos. As they slap each other silly, their girlfriends watch and roll their eyes.

Littler was the producer, while Hayward was the writer and director. They cast a small group of talented actors, including a stuntman for the spot, which took two days to complete with an extra day of editing.

“;We worked on the concept together,”; said Littler, who has family in Honolulu, including aunts, uncles and cousins, and returns at least once a year.

Littler, who currently works in marketing and branding, says this is her first entry in the Super Bowl competition. It all started when she began helping her boyfriend with his production work, and she says now it has become a passion and, potentially, a new career.

But Littler is no stranger to media. She spent two years working for former TV news producer Rick Blangiardi while living in Haleiwa and was a broadcast journalism major at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The inspiration for the ad came from real life. Littler said Hayward and his friends play similar games to determine who would make the next run for pizza or beer.

Doritos selected “;The Smackout”; as one of six finalists from among more than 4,000 entries this year. The six finalists have already won $25,000 each. Now fans will vote for the top three finalists, which will be aired during the Super Bowl XLIV broadcast on Feb. 7 on CBS.

The Super Bowl commercial that ranks No. 1 on the USA Today Ad Meter wins an additional $1 million, while No. 2 wins $600,000 and No. 3 wins $400,000. If the homemade Doritos ads sweep all three top rankings of the USA Today Ad Meter, each finalist will be given an additional $1 million.

Online voters also get a chance to win a pair of Super Bowl tickets every day of the voting period. Fans have until Sunday to vote for their favorite finalist. Vote once a day at www.crashthesuperbowl.com.