Since 2006, Doritos and APM Music, the largest production music platform in the US, have run the Super Bowl ad contest, “Crash The Super Bowl.” The partnership engages online followers by offering fans and budding ad-writers the chance to create a Doritos ad spot — using APM music — and have their spot aired during football’s biggest game. Contestants choose from 21 APM tracks to feature in their commercial. The top three finalists, selected by online voters with input from advertising executives, have a chance to win $1,000,000 if their ad charts at number one in the USA Today polls.
Over the nine years that the contest has run, thousands have submitted their commercials to Doritos in hopes of seeing their ad during the big game, resulting in lucrative music licensing deals for APM and its music publishing and songwriting partners. But how did APM get drafted into such a lasting and successful deal with Doritos, a unit of Pepsico?
2015 Winner
Right Time, Right Place
APM Music, jointly owned by Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group, is known as an innovator within the production music business. Production music libraries compose, produce and license music that is purpose-built for synchronizing into television, film, advertising and internet productions. APM represents music libraries owned by Sony/ATV and Universal and independent producers. In an interview with CEO Adam Taylor and Account Director Bob Frymire, we learned the deal was prompted by their desire to change the way the Doritos account executives at Goodby Silverstein and Partners engaged the APM music library.
Frymire recounts, “I went with the intention to provoke them to thought.”
By asking the agency questions surrounding internet productions and possibly providing a musical solution, Goodby’s already brewing concept of “Crash the Super Bowl” began to manifest. APM was ultimately able to deliver that solution with music that had quality, variety, and was both affordable and legal. The licensing deals enabled an unlimited number of contestants to use APM music downloads to produce the commercials for consideration by the judges — in addition to synchronization fees for the winning ads that were actually aired during the Super Bowl.
According to Frymire, this will be the last year of Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign, but surely this will not be the last we’ll see of APM’s creative licensing maneuvers. Visit the “Crash The Super Bowl” campaign landing page (www.crashthesuperbowl.com) to view this year’s top three ad finalists.
By Kira Powell
Want to learn more about what roles music plays in advertising during Super Bowl season? Check out the latest episode of the Musonomics Podcast, “Music, Money and the Super Bowl.” Listen above via SoundCloud, or visit us on iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.