Little Caesars Pizza Missing Special Delivery

Advertiser: Little Caesars Pizza

Agency: Bozell Worldwide, New York

Challenge: Help revive stagnant sales at the pizza restaurant chain while maintaining the humorous tone TV viewers expect from Little Caesars’ ads.

The Ads: In two television commercials, talking pizzas extol the virtues of Little Caesars pizza. In one spot, the talking pizzas view “home movies” showing them as little balls of dough. In another commercial, two freshly prepared pizzas admire each other’s toppings. The spots end with the familiar “Pizza! Pizza!” slogan.

Comment: Detroit-based Little Caesars switched its advertising agency earlier this year in hopes of boosting sales that have stagnated since 1995. Its goal was to focus its ads on its product--and, sure enough, pictures of pizza dominate both ads. But that strategy might be a mistake. The pizzas, topped with mushrooms, peppers and onions, look fairly ordinary, raising questions about what makes Little Caesars special. $$