Community Corner

Ellicott City Man's Commercial a Finalist for $1 Million Super Bowl Contest

Raj Suri's Doritos spot could net him $1 million if it receives the most votes in the company's Super Bowl contest.


A commercial that cost $200 and took eight hours to shoot could result in a big payoff for an Ellicott City man.

Raj Suri's "Time Machine" commercial is one of five finalists for Doritos' annual Super Bowl commercial contest. The commercial that receives the most votes this month will be shown during the Super Bowl and its creators will receive $1 million.

"It's been a crazy couple of days," said Suri, who found out on Jan. 2 the commercial he produced was chosen as a finalist. "My phone has been blowing up, I cannot keep up."

Suri, 39, shot the commercial with director Ryan Thomas Andersen at the home of Andersen's parent in Arizona. Suri lives in Arizona now, where he works for Intel, but he grew up in Ellicott City and graduated from Centennial High School. He said his entire family lives in the Howard County area.

Suri acts in and produces commercials as a side job.

In the commercial, a man walking along a sidewalk is invited to try a boy's cardboard time machine. The machine is a ruse so the boy can get his hands on the man's Doritos, and the spot ends with a funny twist.

Suri said the boy is Andersen's 6-year-old son and the dog belongs to Andersen. The Doritos-eating man, David Wilkins, is an actor whom Suri met on the set of a commercial in which he was acting.

"I really believe the story is the star of the spot because of the twist at the end," said Suri, who said he thinks his commercial has a good shot against the four other finalists. "I think [the others] are pretty good, but when I look at it objectively I think our spot has the most universal appeal."

Doritos is flying Suri and Andersen to New York City for the Super Bowl, where they'll attend parties and watch the game from Doritos' suite. At the game, they'll find out, along with the other finalists, which spot is the winner.

Suri said he could use some help from his hometown.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd go to check out our commercial. If you think it's the best, I'd love for you to vote for it daily," said Suri. "I hope Ellicott City can rally around the local home boy."

Voters are allowed to select their favorite video one time each day per device. You can vote for Suri's video at votetimemachine.com and see the other videos by clicking here.




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