Given the ubiquity of the phrase, it was probably only a matter of time before user-generated content intersected with another advertising institution: the Super Bowl. This year, no fewer than three major brands will have some sort of user-generated hook for ads airing during the February 4th broadcast of Super Bowl XLI. And yet, even amongst such rare company, Goodby Silverstein & Partners' latest project for Doritos boasts a unique claim to fame. "It's the first and only user-generated content [project] that's untouched by advertising professionals' hands, and it's the first of its kind to be on the Super Bowl," says GSP partner and creative director Jamie Barrett. "Chevrolet and NFL are on the Super Bowl too, but they're different - they're co-opting ideas and producing them, [whereas] we're giving away the keys."

The first project to come out of Doritos' user-generated content mandate, "Crash The Super Bowl" (www.crashthesuperbowl.com) asked consumers to write, produce and submit their own :30 spots for consideration. Out of the 1,200+ entries received, (all of which can be viewed, YouTube-style, on the website) the agency selected five finalists and then turned the final voting over to the web masses. The winning spot will be aired as-is during the Super Bowl broadcast. "We basically briefed the world and all these spots came flying back," says Barrett. "Overall, the quality level was pretty impressive. I think the world out there watches commercials so much that they have a general sense for how to put them together. Obviously the production value wasn't great on a lot of them, but if you look at the final five, there's one in particular that's very slickly produced."

The project is the first to emerge from Doritos' new user-generated content production hub, snackstrongproductions.com. According to Barrett, every two to three months will see the website deliver a new marketing challenge aimed at Doritos consumers. "They'll be things like giving people the ability to vote a product out of production or to identify a mystery product and name it and design the packaging for it," he says. "We'll produce a mystery product and put it out there in a black bag with no sense of what it is and give people a chance to design it from scratch. [Doritos] is really trying to invite people inside the company and certainly inside the brand by letting them participate in various ways."

As for the Super Bowl project, does Barrett have a favorite among the remaining finalists? "I can genuinely say there isn't one commercial among the final five that we're cringing at or hoping gets voted off," he says. "We certainly have our favorites but all of them would fit well in the Super Bowl."

Goodby Silverstein & Partners http://www.goodbysilverstein.com
Crash the Super Bowl http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com
Snack Strong Productions http://www.snackstrongproductions.com