The commercial was meant to be mysterious and captivating. In a dark ring of torches in the middle of the jungle, a brand new SUV is sealed into a metal shipping container bearing a "Pirates of the Caribbean" logo and lowered slowly into the ground.
It was the advertisement for a challenge to race for "buried treasure." The winner would get the car.
The contest was a series of 15 web-based "treasure hunt" mental puzzles, one leading to the next, released every couple days over the course of the month-long competition. The first three people from the United States and four others from outside the U.S. to come up with the final solution to the puzzle would win a shot at the car.
About 52,000 people took part in the U.S., of which, approximately 1,600 eventually came up with the correct answer.
A little more than a month after the contest began, Dave Hutz, a 30-year-old software programmer who has lived in the Herndon area since 2001, was named as one of three U.S. finalists to compete in a day-long race to uncover the buried treasure — a Volvo XC90 SUV.
He was one of seven total finalists — the four others hailing from Austria, Japan, the United Kingdom and Spain — who will face off in a race for the car at an undisclosed location next week.
But perhaps his biggest challenge in the event could be one of his fellow competitors from the United States: his father, 57-year-old Carefree, Ariz. resident James Hutz.
"When we started out — we wanted to encourage people and families to work together on the challenge," said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo. "Did we anticipate [a father and son winning]? Probably not."
"But we're thrilled because we think it'll add just such an interest dynamic to the final race."
This Sunday, the two will join the other five competitors in Miami, Fla., before being flown to the undisclosed location for the final push for the car.
DAVE AND JAMES HUTZ aren't necessarily novices when it comes to puzzle-solving.
About 20 years ago, the two worked on a series of number-deciphering puzzles in a competition to win $100,000 and ended up winning about $3,000, according to James Hutz.
"We both have a background in computers, and puzzles and numbers are a logical part of that," he said, "so I guess you can say we have experience in this sort of thing."
In fact, it was James Hutz and his 15-year-old daughter who originally told Dave Hutz about the contest.
"This is the first one of these types of contest where it was skills-based, and not something where a million people put their names in and one person is pulled at random," Dave Hutz said. "So I would say that was what kept me interested."
Since Dave Hutz started the contest about three weeks later than anyone else, he needed to catch up. In the last week of the contest, he estimated that he spent about five hours every day completing the puzzles.
"I remember I would spend all evening in that week doing the puzzles because I had to catch up," Dave Hutz said. "The puzzles were interesting, they were really fun — but obviously the ultimate objective is to win the car."
It was the interactive challenge of the contest that added to its allure and originality in the United States, according to Gangeri, who added that the contest was actively spoken about on blogs and Internet message boards.
"These are people who are gamers, people who do this stuff all the time," she said. "I don't think I had ever seen anything like this before."
WHILE THE FIRST part of the contest was entirely mental, the second leg of the challenge will be a bit more physical, Gangeri said.
"It's going to be one the ground, so of course it'll be more physical, but nothing where it will put anyone at a major advantage," she said. "We like to think of it as Volvo's version of 'The Amazing Race.'"
To prepare for the contest, Dave Hutz said he is taking this cue and starting to flip through old episodes of the reality television challenges "Survivor" and the "Amazing Race" to give himself an idea of what might be in store for him.
"All I know is that someone's going to have to dig a hole at one point," he said with a laugh.
But his father's participation hasn't influenced Dave Hutz's thinking too much, he said.
"So far we've been discussing the puzzles and strategies," he said, "but once we get there, it's pretty likely that it'll be every man for himself."
The final challenge on the contest has generated so much attention that it will be filmed by a professional production crew and broadcast on the Volvo web site a few weeks after it takes place, Gangeri said.
"They're still going crazy about this on the blogs — so I'm sure we'll have a lot of people looking to see what happened."
WITH A WIFE whose car is on its "last legs" and a 15-year-old daughter looking to get her learner's permit, respectively, Dave and Jim Hutz have two very enthusiastic cheerleaders.
"She's pretty psyched, 'cause she gets the car if we win," said Dave Hutz of his wife.
James Hutz preferred to hold back on picking a recipient for the prize if he wins.
"We haven't crossed that bridge yet," he said. "There's a lot of other people who are out there thinking about that car right now."