Pizza Hut becomes ‘official sponsor of dominoes’

Pizza Hut has revealed itself as the “‘official sponsor of dominoes” in a playful campaign launching its new brand platform “Together we pizza.”

The tongue-in-cheek campaign, created by Iris Worldwide, began with digital out-of-home teaser work over the weekend. It declared “People who like Dominoes love Pizza Hut” using its signature red, black and white brand colours.

The teaser, which also focused on the brand’s "Dominoes sponsorship", ran via social media.

It is being followed by the multinational pizza chain revealing it is an “official partner” of the 2024 World Championship Domino tournament, which took place over the weekend in Andalusia, Alabama, in the US.

The partnership is being supported by "unboxings" from comedy influencers and creators of Pizza Hut’s new 'Handcrafted Crust' pizza on their social channels, with a view to drive “cultural credibility'' of the product. 

The work is designed to establish a fresh tone of voice for Pizza Hut as it looks to “connect with a new generation of pizza lovers” with a focus on social-first audiences. Pizza Hut wants to be seen as a brand “tapped into culture, that contributes to moments of social excitement, while also delivering on taste”.

Jana Ulaite, chief marketing officer at Pizza Hut UK, said: "The launch of our ‘Together we pizza’ brand platform allows us to celebrate Pizza Hut with our existing fans, while getting new audiences excited about the moments that bring us together, and our great-tasting pizza.

“Surprising and delighting our customers is at the heart of our brand. With this campaign that announces our partnership with the 2024 World Championship Domino Tournament, we’re establishing our taste message and refreshing our tone of voice as part of this brand and product relaunch.” 

Media planning and buying was by Spark. 

Grant Hunter, chief creative officer at Iris Worldwide, added: “2024's summer of sport is all about healthy competition and shared moments of togetherness. As the official partner of the 2024 World Championship Domino Tournament, we're bringing the swagger back to Pizza Hut with a playful reminder that while the UK focuses on the Euros, there's another global championship where Pizza Hut is front and centre.”

Iris Worldwide has been running the pizza chain’s creative account since 2018, while Yum China, the owner of Pizza Hut, handed its $400 million (£308 million) media account to Publicis Media last month. This ended a 26-year relationship with incumbent Mindshare after a review was called in February following the GroupM bribery scandal in China.