Edina Man Hopes to Smell Like $1 Million

Jim DeSimone is a funny guy.

If you spend a few minutes talking to him, chances are you'll be chuckling. The Edina resident has been an integral part of improv groups including the Drunk Baby Collective and Comedy Olympix and teaches a few comedy classes through Minneapolis Community Education.

That sense of humor has earned DeSimone and three close friends a 25-1 shot at $1 million as part of Gain's Smell Like a Million Bucks Contest.

Alongside Andy Anderson, Adam Fielitz and Scott Zilka, DeSimone worked his way from the initial pool of 480 entrants all the way to the top 25. Voting—all processed through Facebook—runs through Aug. 1, with the top-ranked video taking home the $1 million prize. The winner will be announced Aug. 2.

Working under the name Anderson-Desmond Productions—Anderson after Anderson, Desmond after telemarketers' horrid pronunciations of DeSimone's last name—the foursome put together a 59-second video based on a fictional 1950s game show.

A contestant has to guess which of two men is an actual millionaire and winds up guessing incorrectly because one man "smells like a million bucks." Thanks to his Gain laundry detergent, of course.

DeSimone, who plays the losing contestant in the short, has his own way of describing it.

"We wanted it to be kind of like if Don Draper (of Mad Men fame) wakes up with a hangover in someone's apartment, our show is what he'd see on the TV," he said.

The idea came to the men at about 1 a.m. while they "were sitting around in Adam's garage eating potato chips." Within 10 minutes they had fleshed out the concept and, after scrounging up a green suit and a nearby church with the perfect blue curtains, ran with the idea.

The entry was actually filmed in two separate stints, with the four friends never actually together. And as they never ran through the script, the original version was nearly 45 seconds too long. Thanks to the magic of editing—over the course of a couple of hours to meet an impending deadline—they seamlessly interact with one another and the clip comes in just shy of one minute.

Anderson joked he plans to devote his share of the winnings to student loans, though contest rules make it impossible for them to know how close they are to winning.

Second through 25th place finishers take home a consolation laundry basket filled with detergent, so Anderson said it's "pretty much go big or go home."

Zilka said the group is "hustling" right now, trying to get family and friends to vote for the video as much as possible.

Asked if he has plans for his share of the $1 million prize, Zilka said he would probably use it to help take care of everyday things.

"It's not change your life money," he said. "It's help your life money."

DeSimone said it's a "complete mystery" how their video managed to sneak into the top 25, as the last time he checked it had only been ranked in the top 60.

"They had some sort of ratings system based on originality and creativity on the part of a company panel," he said. "Then a few people got disqualified and suddenly we found ourselves in the top 25."

The group isn't really thinking much about winning but DeSimone said it "would be hysterical if (they) somehow pulled it off."

"It's funny that we got in period," he said. "Then it was pretty funny we made the top 25. If we manage to win this thing, it will be hysterical."

The men have set up a Website to help guide people through the process of voting for the video. People need to be signed into Facebook and have liked Gain, but then may vote up to once every day for the next four days.