Northwestern alumnus Brad Bosley might be a big winner on Super Bowl Sunday. But it’s not his passing yardage, his interceptions or even his endzone celebrations that’ll make him a hero among America’s couch potato masses – rather, it’s his commercial.

Bosley wrote and directed a Pepsi Max advertisement that earned a spot as a finalist in the fifth annual Crash the Super Bowl ad contest. In Bosley’s commercial “Love Hurts,” the soft drink takes on a special role in the never-ending husband-vs.-wife squabble.

The Current talked to the 2004 School of Communication graduate about the inspiration for his commercial, his recent projects and how the NU community can help “Love Hurts” achieve Super Bowl ad fame.

The Current: How exactly does Crash the Super Bowl work?

Bosley: Doritos and Pepsi Max opened up a (competition) for anybody in the country to make a commercial for one of those two products. A panel of judges from Pepsi Co., and an ad agency picked the top five finalists for Doritos and the top five finalists for Pepsi Max. (Now) it’s open to online voting for anybody across the country to vote for their favorite ad. The top three from each will be broadcast during the Super Bowl.

The Current: When do you find out if you’re in the top three?

Bosley: None of the finalists will find out if their ad will play on the Super Bowl until the actual Super Bowl. Part of the prize is also a free trip to the game – they’re going to put us up in a box at the game (with) a TV there, so we’ll be watching the game and the commercials live as they happen. We’ll find out and be surprised.

The Current: Where did you get the inspiration for the commercial? A wife or crazy ex-girlfriend?

Bosley: I think I was subconsciously inspired by my grandparents. My grandfather never cared about calories, wanted to eat what he liked. My grandmother was always on him. In restaurants, if he ordered the wrong thing she would kick him under the table or give him an elbow or roll her eyes and make a noise – she was pretty aggressive about it.

The Current: What else have you been doing since graduating from Northwestern?

Bosley: I graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory just a few years ago, and I’ve been focusing on trying to make filmmaking my priority.

The Current: Where are you hoping this competition will lead?

Bosley: If you get on the Super Bowl and you’re ranked in the top three on the USA Today Ad Meter, you win money. If you’re at the top of the ad meter among the finalists, Pepsi Co. gives you a one-year production contract to help them develop and make more commercials. But even if I don’t get that, I’m hoping that the exposure from being a finalist and potentially being on the Super Bowl will open up some doors in the world of advertising and directing for commercials.

To watch Bosley’s commercial and help him get “Love Hurts” played during the big game, go to crashthesuperbowl.com. Visitors to the site can vote daily until Jan. 31, and each vote counts as a chance to win tickets to the Super Bowl.

This was originally published in The Current, a weekly supplement to The Daily Northwestern.