- Papa Johns is giving new meaning to the term “pizza dough,” by offering consumers the chance to win a pizza with a crust stuffed with $58,000 in cash. (Well, it will be prop money for safety reasons, but the effect will be the same.)
- Consumers who order an Epic Stuffed Crust pizza from the chain by February 9 will get 10 entries into a sweepstakes to win one of two pizzas stuffed with the money. (They can also enter the contest without ordering through an online portal, though that method enables fewer entries.) Consumers can gain additional entries into the contest by paying with Venmo.
- One of those pizzas will be delivered by Las Vegas Raiders Defensive End Maxx Crosby, who will arrive in a limousine motorcade, with a security detail, to deliver the cash-filled prize in an LED-encrusted pizza box.
Many cities are known for their pizza styles. There’s New York Pizza, with its large slices and puffy outer crusts. Chicago has its deep dish pies, and Detroit is gaining a reputation for its thick-crust Siciilian-style square pizzas. With the Super Bowl’s notoriety as one of the top pizza-consuming days of the year, Papa Johns figured it was time for Las Vegas to have its own pie.
The company introduced its Vegas $tyle Pizza through a TikTok post from one of its general managers, Jacob Bartoli. In the video, Bartoli demonstrates the pizza’s creation by wrapping money to be stuffed into a pizza crust.
“We’re always innovating within our crust with Epic Stuffed Crust pizza,” said Jaclyn Ruelle, vice president and head of brand at Papa Johns, in response to e-mailed questions. “What better way to prove that we have the richest dough than by stuffing it with money?”
In addition to being a store manager, Bartoli has a significant following of 1.4 million on social media, which lent the promotion some urgency and authenticity. The brand has continued to promote the sweepstakes through social media.
“One of our goals was to ensure the campaign seemed as organic as possible and there is no better platform for this than social media,” Ruelle said.
