Death Wish Coffee one step closer to Super Bowl win

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

Michael Brown, owner of Death Wish Coffee in Round Lake, is seen at his store on Monday. Death Wish Coffee is one of 10 finalists for the Intuit QuickBooks' Small Business Big Game competition, with a TV spot in the Super Bowl as the prize.

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Staffers at Death Wish Coffee are feeling Super.

The Round Lake company — which claims to sell the “world’s strongest coffee” — on Tuesday was announced as a finalist in a small business contest that will award an all-expenses-paid commercial for the 2016 Super Bowl.

Death Wish, along with Chubbies Shorts of San Francisco and fellow New York state business Vidler’s 5 & 10, received the most votes from the public in a competition sponsored by software maker Intuit Inc. The winner — the company with the most votes — will receive a 30-second spot to air during Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7.

The announcement was made at Intuit’s second annual QuickBooks Connect conference in San Jose, California. Death Wish chief Michael Brown and company research and development officer John Swedish were both in San Jose for the news.

“These three finalists each generated tens of thousands of votes and rallied support from their local communities and on social media,” said Ken Wach, senior vice president of marketing for Intuit’s Small Business Group, in a press release on the Intuit website. “It demonstrates the passion owners and their customers have for their small business.”

Death Wish, which opened in 2012, started the QuickBooks Small Business Big Game competition as one of 15,000 companies hoping for a shot at Super Bowl glory. The first public vote began in June, and Intuit employees winnowed the contestants down to 10 in September. The public was then asked to vote again.

Formidably named Death Wish will have to triumph over Chubbies, which produces flexible shorts with a commitment to American manufacturing, and Vidler’s, an East Aurora retailer modeled after five-and-dime stores common in America during the 20th century.

On Wednesday, Death Wish employees were in the black over the news.

“We had an idea that maybe we were really doing really well with the contest and voting,” said Teah Teriele, the company’s marketing and social media expert. “The news is still just as surprising. We don’t really know what the next step is. For now, it’s just a waiting game.”

Intuit said the grand prize winner will be announced in January. Death Wish has already won something: The two runners-up each will receive $25,000, as well as local media and advertising valued at up to $15,000.

Teriele believes Death Wish connected with voters because people love their coffee.

“People drink it every day, and it’s so important to so many people, very relatable,” she said. “And the other companies, as well — the shorts company and Vidler’s — they’re great, they’re awesome. But I think coffee is just vital to almost everyone.”

Death Wish sells about 5,000 pounds of coffee each month, mostly online. Voters might have appreciated the distinctive Death Wish packaging: Each black bag comes with the company’s skull and crossbones logo.

“It’s definitely an attention-grabber,” Teriele said. “People want to know what it is with the name Death Wish. People are a little cautious, but I’d say more so curious.”

The commercial to be aired during the game will be the second small-business ad Intuit has paid for. GoldieBlox, a toy for girls, won the software maker’s first competition and scored a 30-second spot during the 2014 Super Bowl.

Super Bowl ads are usually bought by high-profile brands like Chevrolet, Doritos and Budweiser. Airtime for ads during this year’s Super Bowl cost $4.5 million for 30 seconds and didn’t include the cost of producing the spots. That puts the commercials well out of financial reach for most small companies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.