Pizza Hut mocks deo category advertising codes...

We spoke to Prashant Gaur, chief brand and customer officer about the new advert.

Watch the recent 30-seconder spot by Pizza Hut and the first few scenes almost fool you into believing that it's an ad for a deodorant brand. Interestingly, Pizza Hut, a division of US-based Yum! Brands Inc., in its last TVC, took a clear dig at its immediate (and only) market rival, Domino's Pizza.

Conceptualised by Ogilvy India, this Pizza Hut spot highlights aroma of its pan pizzas

Prashant Gaur

Prashant Gaur, chief brand and customer officer, Pizza Hut India Subcontinent, denies it right away adding that he personally doesn't see this as a dig at a category or a brand. It is the first of many digital films that they will do on their brand proposition.

Another reason why he doesn't consider it a dig in any way is that at the centre of it, there is no other brand, but a very umami effect, he argues. “That's the draw and the pull. The execution-style looks very familiar, very similar and we actually leverage that very style as part of the body of the work so that towards the end, we can bring in that element of surprise. Typically, in the past, when we did a couple of edits in the online space, our intent was to get the brand message out. In the first 5-10 seconds, we are experimenting by building intrigue through a very interesting plot. And then, towards the end, you see who the hero is and in this particular case, the hero is our product - our pizza,” he explains.

ALSO READ: Pizza Hut takes a dig at Domino's in first celeb-backed TVC after 8-year gap

The brand is vying for the attention of the millennials and netizens precisely and planning a range of innovative digital promotions to create buzz around the film launch online. “It's only going to be pushed out in the online space,” Gaur confirms, adding, “It's the classic marketing approach, you look at your consumer’s media consumption habits.”

But, isn't breaking the clutter in the category considered to be a colossal challenge?

Credits:

Client: Pizza Hut

Creative Agency: Ogilvy India

President, Ogilvy Group Companies, North: Kapil Arora

Creative: Divya Bhatia, Jiya Minocha

Account Management: Antara Suri, Rahul Ojha

Production House: Firecracker Entertainment

Director (Film): Vishal Mangalorkar