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Pizza Hut x #International
SelfCareDay
Background
While I was studying my Advertising and Marketing MA at the University of Leeds, I participated in an advertising challenge set by TBWA\MCR for students. Participants were required to choose from a selection of briefs and creatively respond. The brief I chose was to create a campaign for Pizza Hut that connected the brand with International Self Care Day in order to encourage singletons to dine alone as an act of self care. The logic behind this tie-in was audience research which had revealed that singletons are the fastest-growing type of household globally. Consequently, social attitudes to single life are changing, and dining alone is more common than ever. In tandem, TBWA’s brand research had revealed that Pizza Hut Restaurants are somewhere that people feel comfortable enough to dine alone.
Owning the eating alone movement
Brief
“How can Pizza Hut own the eating alone movement before anyone else?”
Process
I conducted some preliminary research of my own and decided to target young professionals (aged 25-44), as research had revealed that in the UK, this age group was most likely to be single and live alone. They would therefore would have more opportunities to eat alone.
When formulating the copy for this task, I researched some of Pizza Hut’s recent ad campaigns to get a feel for their brand voice and tried to put myself in the position of the target audience, thinking about how they would want to be communicated with. Through this process, I was able to develop a specific tone of voice and matching visual concept, deciding that informal, friendly and succinct copy matched with playful and simple visuals would be the best way to engage work-weary consumers quickly looking for the antidote to their stress. As the adverts use simple visuals and copy on a black background, the elements could easily be moved, stacked or otherwise adapted for different advertisement formats or dimensions. Given the young professional target audience, the campaign would run via social media posts and stories, website banners, online video pre-rolls and outdoor billboards in urban, commuter-heavy areas.
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Knowing that these prospective customers were likely to be busy/stressed due to the demands of work, I developed three simple animated ad concepts in which pizza dough was used as a playful metaphor for how the consumer might be feeling. At the end of each ad, a delicious freshly made Pizza Hut pizza was then presented as the hero of the advert - the antidote to the consumer’s stressful week. I produced storyboard mockups for each advert to signify the chain of events taking place in the animations. For example, in one concept, the audience sees two hands pulling apart a circle of pizza dough. Underneath the dough, copy reads “Feeling a little stretched?”. The dough is then pulled so far apart that it splits, revealing a freshly cooked pizza from beneath, which bounces onto the screen to save the day. Meanwhile, copy below reads “Bounce back”. Below this, I included a campaign strapline, which was “Pizza for one? Done.” to emphasise Pizza Hut’s speedy service ethos and appeal to those looking for a quick and satisfying pick-me-up after a busy day at work. Also included in the end shot was Pizza Hut’s logo and the #InternationalSelfCareDay hashtag to tie in the brand and intended cultural moment.
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Storyboard for animation #1
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Storyboard for animation #2. in this concept, a hand spins a circle of pizza dough on one finger, corresponding to copy that asks the audience if their week has been a 'whirl'. The dough is then tossed upwards and out of frame. A delicious-looking fully cooked pizza then falls back into frame, with a few toppings landing on top shortly afterwards. Copy now reads "time to unwind", with Pizza Hut's logo, the #InternationalSelfCareDay hashtag and campaign strapline appearing below in order to position eating Pizza Hut's pizza as the ideal way to unwind and show yourself some love after a busy week.
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Storyboard for animation #3. In this concept, two hands roll out a sheet of pizza dough while corresponding copy below reads "Been flat out?". After a few rolls, the rolling pin rolls down to reveal a freshly cooked pepperoni Pizza Hut Pizza, which bounces a little once fully revealed, as if feeling peppy. The copy below now reads "lift yourself", presenting Pizza Hut's pizza as a way to treat oneself and lift spirits after a demanding day or week.
Results
I presented my finished campaign concept to TBWA\MCR staff, MA lecturers and a room of 20 fellow students. My entry made it to the semi-final stage, which narrowed the competition down to 20 out the original 75 entrants. Although my idea did not win the competition, it garnered positive feedback from the TBWA\MCR representative, who commented that the concept seemed fully formed and ready to go to market! Formulating this mock campaign was both fun and useful - it helped me think about integrating copy alongside visual concepts and made me consider the volume and type of copy I was using carefully, conveying as much as possible with few words.
Top L & R: mockup OOH advertising; middle & bottom L - R: mockups of the adverts on various digital devices and platforms