A Doritos commercial called “New Flavor Pitch,” which was written on the F train, is a finalist in a contest in which victory means having it broadcast during the Super Bowl. New York’s subways can be a great place to get work done. These days, it’s not uncommon to see riders with laptops open or their thumbs on BlackBerry keyboards.
Some New Yorkers, like Pete Holmes and Oren Brimer, write television commercials while riding the trains.
In November, the two, who are stand-up comedians, were rushing to meet the deadline for Frito-Lay’s “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, which involved submitting a 30-second commercial about Doritos. The winners — chosen by viewers online from among five finalists — will have their commercial broadcast during the game on Feb.1. They will also win $1 million if it turns out to be the most popular commercial played during the Super Bowl.
A few days before the deadline, Mr. Holmes, 29, and Mr. Brimer, 25, met at 23rd Street to board the F train to Brooklyn. During the ride, they came up with the idea for the commercial, called “New Flavor Pitch,” which shows an executive pitching Frito-Lay on the idea for a new beer-flavored Dorito.
“We didn’t plan on it, but it’s incredibly convenient,” Mr. Holmes said of the 25-minute ride to Brooklyn. “There’s something about being surrounded by so much advertising and stimuli that creates a lot of ideas. Great ideas are created on the F train.”
After they got off the train, they went to a friend’s apartment to type up the commercial, which stars their friend and fellow comedian Matt McCarthy, 29, who is best known as the schlubby cable guy in Verizon FiOS ads. Mr. McCarthy, in a suit and tie, tells Frito-Lay executives in a conference room how great the beer-flavored chips are. As he munches on them, Mr. McCarthy transforms into a John Belushi-like madman.
Mr. Holmes, who plays a Frito-Lay executive, watches in horror. After he tells Mr. McCarthy that the beer-flavored chips aren’t a good idea, Mr. McCarthy is seen standing in only white underwear and a necktie. As a kicker, he yells, “You don’t know me!”
Chosen from more than 2,000 entries, the three comedians’ commercial, produced by their company, Front Page Films, is the only finalist produced by New Yorkers. The commercial’s humor, they say, oozes New York.
“You’re going to have to get their attention quickly and reward them quickly,” Mr. Holmes said of audiences in New York. “That’s the 30-second rule. There’s something about the city that demands that speed.”
The other finalists come from Los Angeles and Indiana.
Mr. Holmes added that comedians in New York are not particularly physical, something evident in several other commercials. “It’s wordy, it’s cerebral and has a punch line with a frantic edge.”
Though the three comedians have already won $25,000 because their commercial is a finalist, they hope to get it broadcast during the Super Bowl. For that, they need to win the online vote. “We don’t need everyone in New York to vote for us,” Mr. Holmes said. “But everyone in Brooklyn would be good.”
In the commercial, Matt McCarthy tries to sell doubting executives on the potential of beer-flavored Doritos. If it wins an online vote, it will be broadcast during the Super Bowl.
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