NEW YORK: Doritos, the potato chip brand owned by Frito-Lay, has launched a new campaign encouraging consumers to submit ideas for TV ads to be shown during the Super Bowl, offering up to $5 million (€3.4m; £3.0m) to the winning entrants.

As part of its Crash the Super Bowl platform, Doritos broadcast two consumer-generated spots during the NFL's showpiece event in February this year.

The creators of one of these ads received $1m after their execution received the top ranking on USA Today's Super Bowl Ad Meter, where consumers rate their favourite commercials in real-time.

In 2010, Doritos will run three 30-second spots during the contest, and has thus called for submissions to be made to a dedicated website, visitors to which will be able to vote for their favourite work.

A member of the public will receive $1m should their ad take first place in the Ad Meter poll, falling to $600,000 for second and $400,000 for third, with a potential $1m "bonus" for each winner if Doritos takes all of these positions.

Ann Mukherjee, group vice president of marketing at Frito-Lay, said the internet is "a new world where one person can make a difference to millions. If we can trust them with our brand, they become better ambassadors than we can ever be."

"Doritos fans have shown they have the creativity and passion to compete at the highest level, and last year's success proved that their incredible talent can shatter conventional limitations and boundaries."

Alongside boosting sales, a key aim for Doritos is said to be generating a substantial amount of word-of-mouth surrounding its Super Bowl ads.

Kathy Sharpe, of Sharpe Partners, the digital agency, predicted that even if its spots fail to "win Ad Meter, they still get buzz and engage consumers with their brand."

Data sourced from USA Today; additional content by WARC staff