Who: Pizza Pizza, with Zulu Alpha Kilo for creative and strategy; Media Experts for media; and spPR for PR and influencer relations.
What: “The Creamy Garlic Sauce-tume,” a Halloween costume inspired by Pizza Pizza’s creamy garlic dipping sauce and the popular social media meme of parodying preassembled costumes for the holiday.
When & Where: The campaign is running on social media, anchored by a 15-second video, a costume giveaway contest that closed a few days before Halloween, and paid partnerships with influencers.
Why: As explained in a press release, Pizza Pizza was one of the first in its category to introduce dipping sauces to the menu 20 years ago. Today, dipping sauce remains a primary brand association, and most Canadians (70%) say dip is an important factor when deciding where to order pizza from.
How: The 15-second spot, which Pizza Pizza used to launch its costume giveaway contest, features footage from the 1920s German vampire film Nosferatu, and warns viewers to protect themselves from vampires this Halloween. After the visual is promptly replaced by the image of a preassembled creamy garlic costume labeled “repels vampires,” the text reads “Everyone deserves pizza… except vampires.”
“We wanted Pizza Pizza to be top of mind this Halloween for parties and for parents handing out candy,” said Zulu Alpha Kilo’s CCO Brian Murray. “Every Halloween, social media gets flooded with parody costume labels, and we wanted to make one that was equally ridiculous—but actually real and obtainable.”
Pizza Pizza and Zulu Alpha Kilo created twenty actual “creamy garlic sauce-tumes,” which were distributed amongst contest winners and content creators brought on by spPR and Pizza Pizza. Creators @damnitmaurie, @davidparody, and @blakejohnstagram, who have worked with the brand in the past, posted videos showing them wearing the costume, while new partner @lifeofjade took to the streets in her creamy garlic outfit to interview the public about the best halloween costumes they’ve seen.
And we quote: “Judging by the engagement on Pizza Pizza’s social channels, this has been very effective and, most importantly, will keep our winners safe from vampires this Halloween season,” – Zulu Alpha Kilo’s CCO Brian Murray
