WINSTON-SALEM – Film director Mark Freiburger took a step out of his comfort zone, and the results were seen by an estimated 108 million Americans on Super Bowl Sunday. Freiburger, a native of Charlotte and a 2005 graduate of the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) directed “Fashionista Daddy,” the consumer-produced commercial that won the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest.

The 30-second ad was broadcast on CBS during the first half of the game, which scored a 46.3 Nielson rating, indicating that 46 percent of American households that were watching television were tuned to the game. It was the third most watched broadcast in TV history, behind the two previous Super Bowl games.

Freiburger’s ad placed fourth on USA Today’s Ad Meter, which ranks the responses of 7,619 registered viewers. It placed first among the 30-second ads.

Matt Skala, another 2005 graduate of the School of Filmmaking, was cinematographer for the commercial.

For winning the contest, Freiburger will have the chance to work with Producer/Director Michael Bay on the next Transformers film. Bay has directed three Transformers films, TRANSFORMERS (2007), TRANFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009) and TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON (2011). 

As one of five finalists in Doritos’ annual contest, Freiburger and his team won a trip to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, where they sat in a skybox with Bay, Jerry Bruckheimer (producer of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Amazing Race) and other finalists, waiting to see who had won.

“It was surreal,” said the 29-year-old filmmaker. “They had TVs in the suite, and we just watched for our ad to be shown. It was a great experience – very emotional.”

Doritos announced the finalists in January, and invited fans of its Facebook page to vote on the winners. The two ads receiving the most fan votes were broadcast, and the one that placed highest with USA Today won the gig with Bay. “That’s a big opportunity,” Freiburger said, adding that he is pursuing other opportunities to direct commercials.

"Fashionista Daddy" shows a dad whose little girl bribes him with Doritos to play “Princess Fashion Show” rather than football with his buddies. His friends catch him wearing a frilly dress and heavy makeup, munching Doritos, and are persuaded to play dress up as well.

Freiburger says he is now a big fan of Doritos. “This says a lot for their brand, and their courage – to hand over the reins to people who don’t make commercials, and to spend $8 million to air two spots.”

Freiburger is a member of the Producers Guild of America. He wrote and produced THE TRIAL (2010) starring Matthew Modine and Robert Forster and distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. He wrote, directed and produced DOGS DAYS OF SUMMER (2007) starring Will Patton and distributed by Level Path Productions.

As America’s first state-supported arts school, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts is a unique stand-alone public university of arts conservatories. With a high school component, UNCSA is a degree-granting institution that trains young people of talent in music, dance, drama, filmmaking, and design and production. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, the School of the Arts opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. For more information, visit www.uncsa.edu.

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