Category: Ads

Pizza Hut lets you order pizza from your shoes

Pizza Hut is the official pizza of the NCAA, a men’s basketball tournament known informally as March Madness and played each spring in the United States.

For last years tournament Pizza Hut created the world’s first shoe that ordered a pizza. Now to celeberate their second year as the official pizza of the NCAA, Pizza Hut, Droga5 and the Shoe Surgeon launched Pie Tops II, a limited-edition high top shoes that not only utilized your geolocation to order the current Pizza Hut deal at the press of a button, but also allowed users to pause the game while they received their delivery.

A TV ad has also been released to highlight the new pause feature of these newly relaunched Pie Top shoes…

The hardest karaoke song in the world

Iceland launches a tourism campaign that turns its “notoriously difficult-to-learn” language into a challenge you can sing. The hook is a catchy karaoke track called “The A-Ö of Iceland”, designed to help tourists get to grips with Icelandic by working through the 32 letters of the Icelandic alphabet and pairing them with common words and phrases.

Performed by Icelandic comedian Steindi Jr, the song leans into the joy of trying. It plays with the difference between a torfbær (turf house) and a bílaleigubíll (hire car). It also makes you remember to pack your sundskýla (trunks) for the sundlaugar (swimming pool).

The Iceland tourist board then releases a companion video showing tourists attempting to sing along. The result is exactly what the campaign promises. A playful struggle that makes the language feel less intimidating and the destination feel more human.

Why this works as tourism marketing

Language is often positioned as a barrier. This flips it into a shared experience. You do not need perfect pronunciation to participate. You just need curiosity and a willingness to try.

That is a powerful shift for tourism. It turns the destination into an active character in the story, not just a backdrop for landscapes.

Karaoke is the format. Participation is the strategy

Karaoke is not just entertainment here. It is a behaviour pattern people already understand. Follow the lyrics. Try to keep up. Laugh at yourself. Share the attempt.

That makes the campaign naturally distributable. The content is designed to be repeated, performed, and passed on.

The pattern to steal

If you want to make a cultural “friction point” feel inviting, the structure is replicable:

  • Pick one authentic challenge the audience expects.
  • Turn it into a lightweight game with a clear beginning and end.
  • Let the audience generate the proof of participation through their attempts, not through brand claims.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “The A-Ö of Iceland”?

A tourism karaoke song that walks through the 32 letters of the Icelandic alphabet and teaches common words and phrases.

Who performs the song?

Icelandic comedian Steindi Jr.

What is the campaign asking tourists to do?

Try to sing along and, in the process, get more comfortable with Icelandic.

What is the core marketing idea?

Turn language difficulty into an enjoyable participation challenge so the destination feels accessible, memorable, and shareable.

A Can Size for Every Aussie

Kraft launches four new sizes of Heinz baked bean cans with a three-minute “life narrative” film. It follows Geoff, a man addicted to beans, and his future wife, whom he meets in the spaghetti department. The story builds to the punchline. Geoff “invents” a range of can sizes that feels perfect for different Australian occasions.

The creative choice is doing a lot of work. It turns something that is normally functional and forgettable. Pack size. Into a character-driven narrative that is easy to watch and easy to remember.

The insight behind the pack strategy

In 2016, Kraft commissions consumer and shopper research to understand how Australians use Heinz beans and spaghetti. The key finding is straightforward. People want ideal can sizes that suit different occasions.

Four sizes is not “more choice” for its own sake. It is a response to a usage reality. One household does not always need the same portion format.

Why a film is the right container for a packaging story

Packaging benefits can sound like rational product copy. This film makes the point emotionally, then lands it practically.

The narrative format also solves a distribution problem. It gives the campaign a reason to be watched and shared even by people who do not currently care about can sizes.

What to steal if you are launching format variants

  • Start with a concrete usage insight, not a portfolio decision.
  • Give the variant story a memorable mental model. Here, “a can size for every occasion.”
  • Use entertainment to earn attention. Then let the product logic feel obvious, not forced.

A few fast answers before you act

What is being launched here?

Four new sizes of Heinz baked bean cans.

What insight drives the launch?

Kraft’s research shows Australians are looking for ideal can sizes to suit different occasions.

How is the launch communicated?

Through a three-minute life narrative film featuring Geoff and his future wife in the spaghetti department.

What is the core marketing technique?

Use story to make a functional packaging benefit feel human, memorable, and worth sharing.