Papa John’s, the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL, is kicking off the 2012 NFL season where it left off at Super Bowl XLVI: by offering all of America the chance to win another free large one-topping pizza—again with the help of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.
Papa John’s founder, chairman, and CEO John Schnatter revealed with Manning during NBC-TV’s telecast of the NFL Kickoff game that Papa John’s will give away 2 million large, one-topping pizzas to members of its Papa Rewards online customer loyalty program throughout the season. This is double the number of pizzas Papa John’s gave away last regular season.
The new promotion also follows one of the most anticipated “flips” in history, when Papa John’s awarded a free pizza and 2-liter Pepsi MAX to all Papa Rewards members after America correctly called the coin toss for Super Bowl XLVI in February.
In the new commercial that began airing last night in support of the 2 Million Pizza Giveaway, Manning—in Broncos gear on the field at Sports Authority Field at Mile High—“incorrectly” hears Schnatter regarding the number of free pizzas the brand will give away this regular season. Manning doubles Schnatter’s total from 1 million to 2 million.
The Papa John’s Super Bowl Coin Toss Experience also found Manning in a humorous situation—this time as an NFL referee—in which he incorrectly heard the call of a coin toss. The television commercial was supported by an integrated marketing campaign.
“The new NFL season brings excitement on so many levels for all 32 teams and their passionate fans, including the return of Peyton Manning,” Papa John’s Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Varga says.
“We’re adding to the excitement by partnering with Peyton to raise the stakes on free pizza with the launch of Papa John’s 2 Million Pizza Giveaway,” he continues. “All season long, our existing Papa Rewards members and new enrollees will have the opportunity to win a free large pizza, and continue earning free pizza fast by becoming members.”
Current Papa Rewards members will have the chance to be randomly selected to receive one of the 120,000 free large, one-topping pizzas each week of the regular season.
Consumers must be members of Papa Rewards by midnight of the Sunday Night Football game on NBC to be eligible for that week's drawing. Winners will be notified that they won a free pizza each Thursday via e-mail.
The free pizza will be awarded in the form of a unique, one-time code redeemable only at papajohns.com. The code will be valid for approximately three weeks.
Papa John’s is in the third year of a multiyear sponsorship with the NFL and is also the Official Pizza of the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans, and Washington Redskins.
