It's Go Time!

From July of 2005 to July of 2006 a Canadian man named Kyle MacDonald bartered his way from a red paperclip to a house.  My dream is that I can top this.  I’ve started with a single bag of Doritos and wish to trade my way up to the most amazing item possible.  Should I be successful, my story will be the basis for an entry into Dorito’s Crash The Super Bowl Contest.  For those unfamiliar, this is a contest where normal people create 30-second ads for Doritos.  These ads are then submitted, and judges from Doritos pick five finalists.  People online then vote for their favorite entry. The creators of these five commercials all win $25,000 and a trip to the Super Bowl.  The top-voted entry online is the first Grand Prize Winner.  The judges then re-evaluate the other four and pick the second Grand Prize Winner.  These two Grand Prize Winners each get their commercial aired during the Super Bowl.  Each winner has a shot to win up to $1 million in bonus money.  How much bonus money won (if any) is determined by the commercial’s performance in an ad meter.  If the commercial ranks first, second, or third in the USA Today Super Bowl ad meter, the creator gets extra money.  The maker wins $1 million, $600,000, and $400,000 respectively for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd.

In any case, it took Kyle MacDonald just shy of a year to complete all of his trades.  I have until November 16^th 2012 (less than 2 months) to make mine AND create a commercial.  So if this is going to happen, I’m going to have to work fast.  Every year Doritos announces its rules, and then a video must be submitted within about two months.  So if you’re wondering why I’m limiting myself to such a short time period, it is due to the timing of the release of the contest rules.  Ideally, I’d like to have more time.  Still, I truly believe this is possible if I can channel my energy correctly.  I realize this idea can go nowhere without the help of others.  For that reason, I’m pledging to give away 50% of any money gained to one or more legitimately recognized charities.  If people are willing to help me, I will give back to help others.  Furthermore, I will blog to help out anyone I trade with in any way I’m comfortable with.  For example, I might mention your business, mention you’re looking for a job in a certain industry, or any other reasonable request.  As you would probably agree, I believe this is an incredible opportunity to create a truly unique ad, inspire others to pursue their dreams, and give back to aid the less fortunate.  Overall, it has the potential to positively affect multiple lives for the better.

I’ve started my trading already, and the first trade that I made was with my brother.  I traded my bag of Doritos for his old Playstation 2 and accessories (controllers, memory cards, games, etc.).  From here, very little is off the table for trades.  I just need each item to get bigger and better.  As for the format of the commercial, anyone I trade with WILL get a spot in the commercial.  Each trade will be documented with photographs.  These pictures will then be compiled into a narrated slide show that showcases the trading journey.  I live in Oswego, IL (near Aurora and Naperville).  I am willing to travel to Chicago and surrounding suburbs to make trades.  People living further away that are willing to come for a trade are also welcome.  The comments in this blog will serve as a place to make trade offers and give feedback.  Overall, I would like to make around 10 trades total.  Any more than that, and I think the 30-second advertisement would start to feel rushed.  To anyone that is willing to give feedback or make trade offers, thank you so much in advance.  At the beginning of the journey here, I will try to make a post to the blog every day and really keep up with the comments.  I want you all to get to know me a little better, inform you of more details to my plan, and keep everyone up to date on my latest trades.  My work schedule is kind of all over the place, so the timing of my posts could be a bit inconsistent.  I can’t wait to get started, and again I am so grateful for everyone interested in my story.  In the sidebar of this blog, I will have a picture of my current item with a description.  I will update it every time I make a trade.  You can use this information for making trading offers. 

Thanks!