A Thai-American’s commercial for a popular American snack is one of 10 finalists in a contest to be aired during the Super Bowl.
Apichit “Richard” Chindapondsuk, 36 of Los Angeles, is close to winning a USD1 million prize and yearlong contract with Universal Pictures if his commercial for Doritos wins an online vote, as well as getting his production shown during the big game on Feb. 1.
“The Lemonade Stand” tells a story of a sweet, little girl with the heart of a true capitalist who opens a lemonade stand in front of her home. Somehow a bag of Doritos tortilla chips is the central plot device which leads to a bidding war over her juice. Just watch. It’s cute.
“It’s a very American thing,” Richard said, “I grew up in Pasadena, and I’ve seen those lemonade stands before. I wrote 4 or 5 different scripts, and my friends chose this one.”
Now Richard, who’s lived in California since a young age, is turning to his homeland for help. He’s calling on Thais the world over to support his bid by voting for “The Lemonade Stand” on Doritos’ website. The vote ends Jan. 28, Siam Town US reported.
Richard produced the commercial with two friends, Dave Horowitz and Nick Siwakuraman. It only cost USD1,200 to make and was shot in a single day.
“The largest amount of money was spent on the food for the staff because we shot all day,” Richard said. “We promised to share 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the reward money to motivate them. We didn’t pay them [to be in the commercial].”
Richard, who works as a Japanese restaurant manager in Santa Monica, said the commercial was also dedicated to his mom.
“My parents are very happy our commercial is in the final, especially my mom,” Richard said, adding his family relocated to California when he was very young.
“If you watch the commercial, one of the actors wears a T-shirt with number 84 on it. That’s my mother’s birthday, Aug. 4,” he said. “I told her the commercial was dedicated to her. She’s very happy.”
