Pizza Hut MY’s smoky stunt teases new chicken pizza

Pizza Hut Malaysia has pulled off a smoky stunt to promote its new 'Ayam bakar' ('flame grilled chicken') pizza. In tandem with its 'Ayam bakar bukan biashe-biashe' ('Not your ordinary flame grilled chicken') campaign which runs through till the end of April, the pizza chain launched its new Raya flavour with a smoke projection billboard above a Pizza Hut store in proximity of a popular Ramadan bazaar in Kuala Lumpur.

Launched in partnership with creative agency Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS), the campaign showcased a classic Ramadan-Raya fare of flame grilled chicken with Pizza Hut’s flare – smoky grilled bazaar flavours on a fully loaded pizza, in a fun twist that’s anything but 'biashe-biashe' (ordinary).

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In a video shared with A+M, the smoke projection billboard looked similar to Batman's Bat Signal, but with a twist of using a smoke machine instead of shooting up the light projection into the sky. 

The billboard rotates between the words "Pizza ayam bakar", and a moving image of the new pizza being pulled to show its cheesy goodness. 

In addition, an activation at local bazaars and an in-store contest introduced promotions and an opportunity to win free pizza for those who could say the pizza’s tongue twister in a game titled “Say my loaded name”. The game title is a play on Pizza Hut's selling point of the new pizza, that it is loaded with more meat for meat lovers. 

The game ran between 1-13 April, and challenged players to say: "Pizza Hut ayam bakar fully loaded bukan biasa-biasa penuh dengan ayam kaw kaw melimpah tambah sos cili serai yang bussin' sedap gila topped dengan cheese gempak meletup memang chef kiss hanya di Pizza Hut" ('Pizza Hut flame grilled chicken fully loaded not your ordinary loaded with chicken topped with lemongrass chili sauce super tasty topped with explosive cheese truly chef's kiss only at Pizza Hut') in under 10 seconds. 

Besides the pizza ayam bakar, the brand also introduced its new melts ayam bakar featuring its dippers cheeseburger sauce, which is available until 27 April. 

“At Pizza Hut, we believe that the best flavors are the ones that resonate with our customers' hearts and taste buds. With the pizza ayam bakar, we've worked hard to craft a truly authentic taste experience that reflects the unique flavors of ayam bakar that you’d get from our local bazaars," said Aileen See, chief marketing officer, Pizza Hut Malaysia.

"The MBCS team have integrated this sensory element of smoke that you’d get from the grill into our campaign, blurring the lines between tech, creativity and cultural relevance for an unforgettable campaign. It’s not just about selling pizza; it's about the celebration of Ramadan-Raya through our shared language of food," she added. 

Meanwhile, Mun Tuck Wai, executive creative director with MBCS said “Ramadan-Raya is a time of food and gatherings, and a classic favourite is the ayam bakar – found in every bazaar. But who’s to say that ayam bakar is just for the bazaar? Sending smoke signals is an age-old tradition, and we looked to lure our customers right to our doorstep to experience ayam bakar like never before."

"A pizza with these flavours needs a launch that’s equally as bold, and we wanted to tickle that curiosity when introducing an ayam bakar that is out of the ordinary," added Mun. 

Last August, Pizza Hut launched a new campaign with Mediabrands Content Studios (MBCS) to introduce the new Pizza Hut melts burger.

A brand film promotion video was released on Pizza Hut’s YouTube showcasing Pizza Hut’s innovation of its new menu item. The melts burger is crunchy but tastes like a burger, bringing about “the best of both worlds”, said Pizza Hut.

The promotion video embodies rap music in the background, mentioning how the new melts burger has a new taste and flavour and is crunchy and loaded with cheese.

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