Pizza Hut Puts Hidden Codes on Super Sunday Ads
Just in time for the Big Game, Pizza Hut is relaunching its Cheesy Bites Pizza with a text messaging promotion offering a chance to win a new car, among other prizes.
On Super Bowl Sunday, Pizza Hut will air two new TV spots that highlight the return of its Cheesy Bites Pizza. In one ad, people hear a popping sound signaling that their favorite pie is back, and form a herd running though the streets after their favorite product. The second commercial shows the crowd running past actress and pop star Jessica Simpson, a Pizza Hut spokesperson, on a red carpet at a movie premiere.
As part of the campaign, viewers can search for a hidden code in both TV spots for a chance to win a new car, an entertainment package or a year’s worth of pizza. Once fans see a code, they can text “THEHUT” to 843488 to enter the sweeps. Entrants who text in a code can also opt in to get offers by phone for their local Pizza Hut.
Pizza Hit is promoting its Cheesy Bites Pizza for a limited time—$11.99 for a large one-topping pizza. The “Cheesy Hunt” campaign will run for seven weeks, with new spots breaking over the next six weeks.
BBDO created the TV spots for Pizza Hut.
Sister brand KFC ran a similar promotion last year. That campaign seeded TV spots with codes that viewers could see when they played the ads in slow motion on a VCR. Viewers entered the code online to get a coupon for a free Buffalo Snacker sandwich (PROMO Xtra, Feb. 28, 2006).
Wireless marketing agency of The Marketing Arm, ipsh!, San Francisco, is handling the wireless piece of the program.
Both Pizza Hut and KFC are owned by Yum Brands, Inc.
