Pizza Hut Readies First Ad Campaign for NFL Season

Pizza Hut is beginning its reign as official pizza sponsor of the NFL this week, and the brand is taking advantage of the title with new deals, app features and national television spots.

In a bid to reemerge as the largest domestic pizza chain, the brand will tap Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster in a new television spots that build on an introductory campaign launched in April with the NFL draft.

According to an article on CNBC, Pizza Hut is also rolling out an updated rewards program, which will offer incentives for the beginning of football season, such as free pizzas for customers who enroll in the program and place one $10 order before September 15.

Restaurant Business Online notes that the brand is introducing a new app called Beanbag Blitz, which simulates popular tailgating game cornhole, and adding to its existing app a feature called Game Plan, which will offer customers deals on the days their favorite teams play.

The NFL and previous official pizza sponsor Papa John’s cut ties after last season due to an increasingly strained relationship, which left room for Pizza Hut to step in.