Burbank man’s commercial wins Doritos contest, airs during Super Bowl

A Doritos commercial starring and cowritten by a Burbank resident was a cowinner of an annual contest sponsored by the snack company and it aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The ad follows a boy who has created a time machine as he tricks a neighbor, played by Burbank resident Daved Wilkins, into entering the contraption in a ploy to steal his Doritos. When the machine “takes off” using simple maneuvers created by the boy, Wilkins believe he’s being transported into the future, the Burbank Leader reported.

Wilkins worked on the 30-second spot with two longtime friends Ryan Thomas Andersen and Raj Suri, both of whom live in Phoenix. They had submitted commercials in the Doritos contest before but never made it to the finals.

Wilkins lived in the Arizona city before moving to Los Angeles with his wife, Melissa, in 2010 to pursue an acting career.

The idea for the commercial sprang from a conversation Andersen had with his 6-year-old son, Gavin, while they were watching “Back to the Future” and the boy began asking about time machines.

Andersen created a time machine out of a refrigerator box so Gavin, who is featured as the boy in the commercial, could go on imaginative journeys.

While Wilkins earned a degree in global business and has held some non-acting jobs, including a car salesman, he knew that acting was his calling.

“It was always in the back of my mind. I was supposed to be an entertainer,” he said.

His wife, who is a pharmacist, encouraged him to go after his dream and he got some acting work in Phoenix, but the leading roles always went to actors from Los Angeles. So, they made the move here to hopefully improve his chances.

Wilkins’ commercial was probably one of the least expensive finalists. It was filmed in seven hours in Phoenix with a $300 budget, which “went mostly for food,” Wilkins said.

Twitter: @LAMarkKellam.

Kellam writes for Times Community News.