Soda pop stars

Thirty dollars can get you an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the Super Bowl, but only if you can make a commercial that stands out from thousands of entries from across the country.

Baldwin Park resident Brandy Gill did just that with his co-workers during a one-hour lunch break. Co-worker Wes Sumner shot the commercial on his Canon still camera and Gill did the editing on his Mac in one hour.

“It was all thrown together haphazardly in an hour just for fun,” said Gill, the creative director at Acropolis advertising firm. “We forgot about it and then all of a sudden I get a call and I am thinking to myself ‘Who are you? Do I owe you money?’ And it turned out to be a Pepsi Max rep saying that we are a finalist.”

National spot?

The commercial, called “Zero Calories? Psshh,” could air during the Super Bowl along with six other finalists. It’s already netted Gill $25,000 and a trip for two to the big game on Sunday, Feb. 6. He plans to bring owner Scott Major with him to the Super Bowl and split the prize winnings with his co-workers.

The Crash the Super Bowl Challenge received 5,600 entries from Pepsi and Doritos fans from all over the country.

The public can vote until Jan. 31 at www.crashthesuperbowl.com and the top four vote getters — two from Pepsi and two from Doritos — will air during the game on Fox. Executives from each company will also select one additional entry.

The inspiration

Gill’s entry shows his co-workers tasting Pepsi Max and responding by making funny faces while saying “psshh” in disbelief that it actually has zero calories.

He heard about the contest online and the inspiration of the “psshh” sound came from his friends around the office.

“It’s always like when you don’t believe something you are always like ‘psshh,’” Gill said.

The breakout star

The star of the piece is production artist Marla Pfaff, who at the end blurts out “bullshit” after taking a drink from her Pepsi Max.

“We just said to Marla, ‘Look at the camera and just say bullshit, it’ll be funny,’” Gill said.

Pfaff was worried her 80-year-old mother would see it and get upset, but when she did finally watch it, she thought it was hilarious.

“We did not expect it to go this far, it’s amazing,” Pfaff said.

Free publicity

Gina Pasquini and Molly Cook Britt, two other co-workers featured in the spot, were both excited when they realized that they could be on TV during the most watched event of the year.

“I think it is ironic that the one time I have a shot at national television is with my triple chin showing,” Cook said through laughter.

“It is cool that we have the potential to be aired during the Super Bowl for like nothing,” Pasquini said. “People are paying millions of dollars and we have a chance to do it for free.”

Before the glory days

Having his commercial aired during the Super Bowl would mean Gill’s life has come full circle.

After graduating from UCF in 1997, he worked at a few advertising firms in Orlando before landing a job in Atlanta in 2007. That job came to a screeching halt in November of 2009 after he was laid off.

After being out of work for five months, Gill returned to Orlando, moving into the Baldwin Park community, after he landed a job with Acropolis.

While the commercial has nothing to do with the Orlando firm, Gill hopes that it could shed some light on the creative people that work there.

“We hope it would bring some attention on us,” Gill said. “And you know, hopefully help us get some new clients and do more work.”

Learn more

Vote for “Zero Calories? Psshh”at www.crashthesuperbowl.com until Monday, Jan. 31.

Watch the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 to find out if it made it on the air.

Visit acropolisinc.com to learn more about the firm.