Pizza Hut's New Shoes Let You Order and Pause the Game
Brand Partnered With Hypebeast for Second Iteration of the Campaign
Editor's Pick
Ordering pizza from a shoe wasn't enough, apparently. Pizza Hut will now allow sneakerheads to place their orders from a button on one shoe and pause the TV with a button on the other.
Pie Tops II, the second iteration of PIzza Hut's techy kicks, are rolling out just in time for the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. Pizza Hut is the official pizza of NCAA March Madness and the Final Four. And the next few weeks, as people watch hours of college basketball, is one of the busiest times of the year for Pizza Hut.
Yes, Pizza Hut's big sports news right now is how it swooped in to snag the NFL sponsorship deal that Papa John's abandoned. But first, it's basketball season.
After a limited run of 64 pairs given away in 2017, a nod to the teams in the March Madness bracket, there will be 250 pairs of the Bluetooth-enabled sneakers available this year. They're also now in two colors: half of them red and half of them "wheat," in more sizes and featuring design elements such as "cheese grater mesh" and "extra cheese pull laces," along with some Pizza Hut branding on the shoes. And this year Pizza Hut aims to sell 50 pairs, through Hypebeast, starting during the week of March 18. Pricing was not divulged. Other pairs will be distributed and can be won at the fan festival in San Antonio during the Final Four.
Pizza Hut once again worked Dominic Chambrone, known as the Shoe Surgeon, on the shoes. Droga5 handled the creative work.
Last year's shoe campaign focused on highlighting the ease of ordering.
"This year is really all about delivery," says Pizza Hut Chief Marketing Officer Zipporah Allen. "It will pause live TV so our customers don't have to miss a minute of the action."
While the new shoe should pause any live TV program (once set up it works much like a universal remote), the marketing around it, naturally, is tied to March Madness. TV spots show a group of friends gathered to watch the games, including Jenny, who pauses the action by pressing her shoe when the pizza arrives.
Of course, few will actually get the shoes. The idea of reminding diners about the ease of ordering could boost Pizza Hut's visibility in the competitive space, where Domino's has taken the lead. More than 50 percent of Pizza Hut's orders are digital, and 70 percent of those are placed on a mobile device.
Marketing also promotes a value play, medium pizzas for $5.99 each when two or more are ordered.
"It's really important to be affordable," says Allen. Last year, Pizza Hut was promoting a large, two-topping pizza for $7.99 to those who placed online orders.
So, does the chain's new relationship with the NFL mean we'll see pizza ordering cleats this fall? "The possibilities are endless for football season," says Allen.
Credits
- Date
- Mar 05, 2018
- Client :
- Pizza Hut
- Client :
- Pizza Hut
- Agency :
- Droga5-New York
- Chairperson :
- David Droga
- Group Creative Director :
- Justin Ruben
- Associate Creative Director :
- Rich Singer
- Associate Creative Director :
- Zack Menna
- Senior Art Director :
- Christian Chico
- Senior Copywriter :
- Nicholas Bauman
- Senior Art Director :
- Ruben Orter
- Senior Copywriter :
- Ben Butler
- Design Director :
- Michael Kleinman
- Creative Technologist :
- Chloe Karayiannis
- Chief Creative Officer :
- Sally-Ann Dale
- Executive Producer :
- Dieter Lebbe
- Producer :
- Gabija Blake
- Film Associate Producer :
- Annie Vlosich
- Business Affairs Director :
- Jocelyn Howard
- Business Affairs Manager :
- Keith Marman
- Co-Director, Interactive Production :
- Tasha Cronin
- Executive Producer, Interactive :
- Shayan Amir-Hosseini
- Interactive Senior Producer :
- Kristen Rantuccio
- Producer, Interactive :
- Grace Wang
- Director, Print Services :
- Rob Lugo
- Associate Director, Print Services :
- Riely Clough
- Senior Art Producer :
- Emily Heller
- Print Producer :
- Rose Mahan
- Retoucher :
- Peter Gibson
- Retouching Studio Manager :
- Michelle Leedy
- Global Chief Strategy Officer :
- Jonny Bauer
- Group Director, Strategy :
- Joanna Schwab
- Group Director, Strategy :
- James Friedman
- Communications Strategist :
- Mariel Milner
- Chief Operating Officer :
- Susie Nam
- Group Account Director :
- Ben Myers
- Account Director :
- Jordan Cappadocia
- Account Supervisor :
- Victoria Gan
- Account Manager :
- Andrew Mullen
- Senior Project Manager :
- Andrea Verenes
- Associate Legal Counsel :
- Erica Palaia
- Chief Brand Officer :
- Marianne Radley
- Chief Marketing Officer :
- Zipporah Allen
- Director, Advertising :
- Jenna Bromberg
- Senior Manager of Advertising :
- Lindsay Morgan
- Senior Associate Marketing Manager :
- Amanda West
- Associate Manager, Digital Marketing :
- Amanda Hitchcock
- Senior Director, PR and Partnerships :
- Doug Terfehr
- Manager, PR and Partnerships :
- Courtney Moscovic
- Cost Consultant :
- Ron Hacohen
- Production Company :
- Anonymous Content
- Director :
- Max Sherman
- Director, Photography :
- Tim Hudson
- Executive Producer :
- Lori Stonebraker
- Producer :
- Laura Miller
- Editorial :
- Cosmo Street
- Editor :
- Tom Scherma
- Assistant Editor :
- Dave Otte
- Executive Producer :
- Maura Woodward
- Producer :
- Luiza Naritomi
- Post Production :
- The Mill
- Executive Producer :
- Heath Raymond
- Producer :
- Bugs Russell
- Music :
- The Diner
- Sound Director :
- Heard City
- Mixer :
- Evan Mangiamele
- Shoe Design :
- Shoe Surgeon
- Chief Designer :
- Dominic Chambrone
- Production Manager :
- Dallas Imbimbo
- Designer and Developer :
- Pierce Lopatic
- App Development :
- TouchLab
- Partner :
- Jeff Namnum
- President :
- Kevin Galligan
- Producer :
- Justin Mancinelli
- Developer :
- Samuel Hill
- Developer :
- David Morant
- Hardware Development :
- Area of Effect
- Co-Founder :
- Carrie Kengle
- Co-Founder :
- Bruno Kruse
- Chief Executive Offier :
- Elin Härén
- Photographer :
- Paul McGeiver
- Production Company :
- Second Child
- Executive Producer :
- Scott Chinn
- Producer :
- Kim Santella
- Editor :
- Elizabeth BB Blanchard
- Post Producer :
- Sara Mills
- Director :
- Paul McGeiver
- Director, Photography :
- Paul McGeiver
- Photographer :
- Paul McGeiver
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