'Midnight Snack' commercial named finalist in Heinz ketchup's TV contest

Give Tom Nance three days, a camera, a $100 budget and, voila! he's got a commercial that may be shown on national television.

Nance, creative director for Weiser Creative Group/Weiser Litho, Inc. based in Westlake Village, helped put together a 37-second advertisement as part of Heinz ketchup's "Top This TV Challenge Take 2."

Out of 6,000 entries in the national competition, the spot, "Midnight Snack," was selected last week as one of 10 semifinalists.

The winner, to be chosen by the public in an online vote, will take home $57,000, and the commercial will be aired during primetime TV.

Four runners-up will get $5,700 each and also get their spot televised nationally.

"I think it's amazing that they were able to pull off the whole thing in three days," said Paula Weiser, president and CEO of Weiser Creative Group. "I am pumped."

Nance, Weiser and director Craig Saavedra brainstormed ideas and came up with something simple but brilliant- in about 10 minutes.

In the "Midnight Snack" commercial, Nance plays the main character- he couldn't afford any actors- who makes a late-night hamburger with all the fixings. He sits down ready to eat, but realizes something is missing.

He runs to the store and finds it just closed. He goes to a drivethrough, orders food, tears through the contents of the paper bag and smiles upon finding that one small packet of Heinz ketchup.

"We wanted to showcase the ketchup packets," said Nance, a Newbury Park High School graduate, just like Saavedra. "We figure everyone else is doing bottles. . . . We got sucked right into it. It was a lot of fun."

The short was filmed at the homes of Weiser and Nance.

To watch and vote for the "Midnight Snack" commercial visit www.topthistv.com.

Voting for "Top This TV Challenge Take 2" ends Mon., April 21.