Death Wish Coffee Company win Super Bowl ad space

Death Wish Coffee Company has won the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Big Game contest to feature its commercial during the Super Bowl on 07 February. The  30-second ad will be the only one from a small business and will be seen by more than 100 million viewers. Death Wish Coffee, based in Round Lake, New York, was selected from more than 15,000 entries and hundreds of thousands of votes in the Intuit Inc sponsored contest. “This contest has brought my team closer, and has already helped us grow the business. It’s amazing to think that our 11-employee company will be on the same stage as well-known brands we’ve always admired,” said Owner of Death Wish Coffee, Mike Brown. “This is just the beginning for us.” Brown founded Death Wish Coffee in 2012, after quitting his job as an accountant and opening a café. The beans business began when Brown set out to satisfy his customers requests for a strong coffee. He claims that the use of Robusta beans have enabled him to to create a coffee which contains 200 per cent more caffeine than a regular cup. “They’re a great small business success story, and show what’s possible when you dare to dream big,” said Intuit Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brad Smith. “They competed against thousands of other small businesses to get to the big game and came out on top.” Intuit QuickBooks kicked off Small Business Big Game in June, inviting small businesses to submit their applications. A panel of Intuit judges selected the top 10 finalists and a public vote then determined the winner. In addition to the expenses-paid commercial first prize, Intuit awarded two runners-up, Chubbies Shorts and Vidler 5 & 10, each receiving US$25,000, as well as local advertising. The seven other finalists each receive a US$10,000 prize as well as an ad in their local paper, while the accountants of all 10 finalists receive US$10,000 and local advertising. This is the second year QuickBooks has hosted the program. Educational toy company GoldieBlox based in Oakland, California received the ad in 2014.