shots Awards: TV Commercial OTY (up to 60 secs)

As part of Doritos' annual Super Bowl competition, Crash the Super Bowl, budgeoning directors are given the opportunity to win prime airspace during the Game by entering a 30-second piece of work to promote the crisp brand. 

Scoundrel director Peter Carstairs took home first prize last year with his believable yet slightly eccentric take of what men get up to while their spouse's give birth. Not only did the spot get screened during the Big Game, but it also won Gold at last year's shots Awards for TV Commercial of the Year (up to 60 seconds). We caught up with Carstairs to find out how the ad came about.

shots Awards 2016: TV Commercial of the Year (up to 60 seconds)

Gold Winner: Doritos Ultrasound

What inspired Ultrasound? 

On one level, we just wanted to make people laugh. But on a slightly deeper level, there is a real truth in that moment at the ultrasound, when a mother-to-be is experiencing this incredible life-affirming moment, while the father-to-be is not quite getting it… instead they’re on their iPads or eating or something. Obviously any truth was hugely exaggerated. But to our surprise, a LOT of women related to it saying things like “that’s basically what my husband was like”. Others were horrified, but that’s the point I guess; you find a truth and exaggerate it.

Doritos has a rich history of great advertising; was it daunting to live up to the brand’s long-standing trail of great campaigns? 

Not at all. Being so free to create whatever we want, with no brief, no clients, no rules was totally liberating. We never had to think about anything apart from making our work as good as it can be. 

At what stage were you brought in on the project? 

We all came together at the start and worked together throughout the whole process. 

What was it like working with Cummins & Partners? 

We work together quite a bit but, with this spot, they came with a brilliant concept – with an ending that is so obvious and yet you just don’t see it coming. Together we collaborated on the script and throughout the whole process so it was a lot of fun and is something I’m really proud of.

How important was it to get the casting right in this spot and what was the process for finding these actors like? 

Casting is everything in any performance driven ad. You can have the best script in the world fall flat on its arse without the right actors and performances. Fortunately I knew exactly who I wanted to cast and they were up for it. So there were no auditions. Even more fortunately, the couple are married in real life, so that brought a really truthful and funny dynamic to the screen.

How does it feel to win the shots Awards TVC of the Year (up to 60 seconds)? 

It was actually announced the day after Donald Trump was elected. So, like pretty much everyone else in the world, I was in the midst of a huge WTF moment. And then, to my complete surprise, we went and won ‘Commercial of the Year’ so it was like a double WTF moment. I was so happy and so confused at the same time. But seriously, I’m still very new to advertising so I am particularly thrilled and honoured to have won. A big BIG thank you shots and all the judges!