Pizza Hut's New Shoes Let You Order and Pause the Game

Brand Partnered With Hypebeast for Second Iteration of the Campaign

Published On
Mar 05, 2018

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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