No victor in Victory's commercial contest

Did the door fall off Victory Auto Wreckers' contest to make a new TV commercial?

The Bensenville company had been running a YouTube contest since February to see if amateur directors could improve on the iconic TV ad that made Victory a household name during its 30-year run on Chicago airwaves.

But on Wednesday - the day the grand prize winner was supposed to be announced - the company posted a message on its Facebook page that made it clear that wasn't going to happen.

The post said the contest was supposed to be "fun" and for people in the Chicago area "who have been watching (or, more likely, being subjected to) our commercial for the last 30 years."

"It was not meant for anyone outside of the local area ... California, Washington, Bangladesh," the statement read. "It is a shame that some contestants felt that they needed to 'win at all costs.'"

Jesse Padilla, Victory's marketing director, told the Daily Herald there was "some fishy voting" during the past week, when folks on the Internet were able to pick their favorite amateur commercial among eight finalists. He said some finalists inexplicably received "a ton of votes" during a specific period of time.

"We couldn't figure out why they were coming in that fast," Padilla said.

The contest was set up to allow only one vote per email address. To ensure the email address was valid, it had to be tied to a Facebook account.

Nevertheless, it appears some contestants were able to artificially inflate the number of votes they received.

"There's some voting methods we were unprepared for and didn't expect," Padilla said.

But instead of canceling the contest - which was an option - Victory officials have decided to air all eight contestants' commercials at different times on Fox 32 and My50 Chicago beginning Saturday and ending next Thursday.

"Everybody's a winner," Padilla said. "So Chicagoland is going to get the chance to see all of these on TV."

Padilla said all eight commercials are excellent. Each was a weekly winner chosen between Feb. 1 and March 28.

"A lot of creativity went into these things," Padilla said, adding that each weekly winner received $500. "There's great content there. Let's show them all."

Meanwhile, a new professionally-made commercial for Victory is scheduled to debut on Friday, May. 1.

The Victory ad that's been airing since May 1985 shows a man getting a fanned-out bundle of cash for his battered car, just after the driver's door has fallen off in his hand. The commercial has been so effective that Victory never saw a need to replace it.

But the automobile recycling facility at 710 E. Green St. has been renovated and expanded. As part of the project, its lot has been paved.

So Victory no longer has the muddy yard that's shown in the classic commercial, which also contains some outdated information.

The original commercial asks viewers to call for a quote, but Victory's owner now wants customers to use the website at victoryautowreckers.com.

While he hasn't seen the final version of the professional commercial, Padilla said he has watched the completed video portion.

"I think it's great," he said. "There's a nod to the iconic commercial in there. I laughed the first time I saw it."