Alumnus Kevin Willson (’01) headed to the Super Bowl for the third year in a row as a finalist in Doritos’ national commercial contest, “Crash the Super Bowl” and the 30-second spot he created aired during the Super Bowl pushing Willson, the film’s director, and his crew closer to winning $1 million from Doritos. Tuesday, Feb. 7, the USA Today & Facebook Ad Meter results were announced and Willson's video ranked number one winning himself and the crew $1 million.

The 45-member film crew committed two months of time and energy into making the video, titled “Sling Baby,” working for free in hopes the commercial would make it as one of the five finalists in the contest. In early January, Doritos announced “Sling Baby” had been selected from more than 6,000 entries.

“The chance to air in the biggest platform in the world is worth the risk of not making it,” said Willson, who is the only person to qualify for the contest in three separate years.

Employing creativity and comedy, the commercial pairs two underdogs — a grandma in a wheelchair and a baby — to valiantly win back a bag of Doritos chips from a bully.

“What I love about comedy commercials is telling a story in an incredibly concise way — you have to tell your story in 30 seconds and that’s a really fun challenge,” said Willson.

For the commercial, Willson partnered with alumni Jeff Edwards (’00) and Daniel McNeely (’02), who both served as executive producers. The trio have been making films together since their freshmen year at Biola and employed two other Biola graduates — Bob Perkins (’00) as editor and Trevor Smith (’11) as 1st AC — as well as current Biola student David Reynosa for behind-the-scenes footage.

Three years ago, Willson’s first contest entry, “Casket,” aired during the Super Bowl, gaining his crew second place. His entry “Birthday Wish” was one of the five finalists last year.

Read more about “Sling Baby” and the making of the commercial.

Written by Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator. Jenna can be reached at 562.777.4061 or jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.