--- title: "QSR Ad of the Month: Little Caesar’s and Justin Jefferson Score More than Laughs" url: https://burnaze.com/article/5a0464c6-0dab-4029-babc-400746945dae source: "QSR Magazine" original_url: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/qsr-ad-of-the-month-little-caesars-and-justin-jefferson-score-more-than-laughs/ author: "Danny Klein" category: "Pizza" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Pizza" published: 2026-10-30T18:06:20.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T13:15:33.663Z image: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/littlecaesarspizza-1.jpg --- # QSR Ad of the Month: Little Caesar’s and Justin Jefferson Score More than Laughs **TL;DR:** Little Caesar's has released a new ad featuring Justin Jefferson to promote their $4.99 pizza deal, which has received high scores in Test Your Ad results. The ad's success is attributed to Jefferson's comedic skills and the brand's consistent NFL partnership. *By Danny Klein, originally published in QSR Magazine on 2026-10-30. [Read the original](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/qsr-ad-of-the-month-little-caesars-and-justin-jefferson-score-more-than-laughs/).* ## Story Like any sports sponsor, Little Caesar’s is marking the NFL season with a new ad. But unlike their competition, the pizza brand has a secret weapon: Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson. Jefferson’s three-year association with the brand has revealed the wide receiver’s backup skillset—he’s a born comedian, which has helped Little Caesar’s make hilarious spots that are sports-relevant and still great ads. The latest one is promoting a specific offer—Little Caesar’s headline “Pizza Pizza” deal, which offers two pizzas for only $4.99 each. Jefferson, wearing a sci-fi headset straight out of “*Back To The Future*,” is trying to work out how on earth the brand can afford to do it. Not even the author of “The Weight of Genius” and self-proclaimed Problem Solver of The Year can get a handle on the situation, and his machine overloads before he can work it out. Fortunately, the voiceover lays out the real point—however Little Caesar’s manage it, that tasty $4.99 deal is not to be missed. The ad is firmly product- and offer-centered, like hundreds of other QSR brand promos. But the way in which it’s presented is very different. By treating the ad like a comedy skit, Little Caesar’s get to have their cake (or pizza) and eat it—they make an ad where the takeaway is firmly centered on the offer, but they also entertain the audience and promote their NFL partnership. And it’s all possible because in Justin Jefferson they have a sporting brand ambassador who is also great at making viewers laugh. You can see the payoff in Little Caesar’s Test Your Ad results for this ad. Two of the core measures in Test Your Ad are Star Rating, which predicts the ad’s potential for long-term brand-building, and Spike-Rating, which predicts short-term sales gains. Some ads perform well on one or the other, but Little Caesar’s have aced both scores here. With a 5.0-Star Rating and exceptional Spike, the ad lands in the top 5 percent of QSR ads in both categories. As well as the talents of Justin Jefferson himself, the secret sauce here is consistency. It’s the fact that the brand’s NFL partnership, and Jefferson’s involvement, have stretched over several years now that means audiences are better primed to recognize and enjoy new ads in the campaign. Throw in strong branding – the ad scores well over the category norm on instant-recognition Fast Fluency – and you have a recipe for effectiveness. Aside from consistency, the lesson for other QSR brands is to select your brand ambassadors carefully. Fame isn’t the only factor in choosing a celebrity to appear in your ads. If they’re a natural performer with star quality, like Justin Jefferson, you’ll have a far higher chance of making ads that feel natural, funny and highly entertaining. System1’s recent “Helmets Off, Wallets Out” blog post explored some of the fascinating dynamics that go into making commercial superstars of NFL players—in Jefferson’s case, his mastery of social content has helped make him a familiar face even though his job requires a helmet. It’s a subject brands need to pay close attention to, since at the other end of the football season lies the biggest marketing and advertising opportunity of them all, the Super Bowl. At System1 we cover every ad on the night of the game, live. But we also pay close attention across the season to partner commercials and to trends in how brands make use of star players past and present. With Justin Jefferson, brands like Little Caesar’s have found a player who looks set to follow Peyton Manning into a long second career in the commercial breaks between the plays. ***Vanessa Chin*** *is the SVP of Marketing at System1, The Creative Effectiveness Platform that predicts and improves the commercial impact of ads and ideas. Vanessa leads US marketing efforts to enhance visibility and expand business opportunities. Previously, she was Marketing Director at ALDI, supporting its transformation into the fastest-growing US grocery chain. Vanessa has also worked at Leo Burnett, MARC USA, and BBDO, with expertise in advertising, brand development, and global marketing operations.* ## Entities - QSR (sector) - QSR Magazine (publication) - Little Caesar's (company) - qsr marketing (topic) - Danny Klein (person) - nfl partnership (topic) - celebrity endorsement (topic) - advertising campaign (topic) - brand ambassadors (topic) - NFL (regulator) - System1 (company) - Vanessa Chin (person) --- Originally reported by Danny Klein, QSR Magazine (https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/qsr-ad-of-the-month-little-caesars-and-justin-jefferson-score-more-than-laughs/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/5a0464c6-0dab-4029-babc-400746945dae).