pizza freaks
Once upon a time, Totino’s mostly marketed to a mythical character called “Gatekeeper mom.” This strategy of talking to an eager-to-please mom can lead to parodies like this …
“Anything for my hungry guys!”
Then, they decided to talk to their eater instead.
But who were they?
To answer that question, we started with research. What did the Pizza Roll eater value in food? What did they do for fun? What shows do they watch? How do they feel about their lives? Beyond that, we also knew dozens of Pizza Roll fans. We were them!
By defining the audience, we shaped the core belief of the brand:
You are what you’re into.
Fun Harder
We were inspired by the Pizza Roll eater’s down-to-earth vibes. They don’t hang a diploma on their wall or have a trophy case in their bedroom. Instead, they spend time analyzing their favorite shows, beating the boss on the hardest level, making mind-boggling microwave inventions and partying with their friends. They don’t follow expectations or conventions, but break them. This led us to create the tagline “Fun harder,” and develop a guide to the Totino’s Lifestyle.
Creating a Movement
Our next step was to launch the brand online. A typical brand playbook is to release a bunch of branded assets and stories that look polished, consistent and buttoned up. This did not work for Totino’s. Instead, we found that the more fun we had making the weirdest content possible, the more likes we got. The eater didn’t want Totino’s to feel like a brand—they wanted it to feel like a friend.
We also knew that there are certain lifestyle factors Totino’s eaters have in common with Tim & Eric fans.
Instead of just riffing on Tim & Eric aesthetic vibes, we decided to shoot for the moon. We asked them if they wanted to make an ad for Totino’s. Soon enough we were behind the scenes, watching Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim make comic gold for the brand.
Instant virality.
Totino’s had a media budget planned to promote this video, but it went viral almost immediately. They got to turn off media, and reinvest that cash right into pizza innovation (I’m assuming).
Totino’s today
A new crew helms the Totino’s brand today, carrying on the legacy of having as much fun as possible.
Creative Partners
Zeus Jones
This work was done at Zeus Jones.
Jason Zabel
Jason is my best friend from 10th grade. We got to CD this project together.
Katie Sisneros
Katie is an amazing writer and PhD. She ran social media while Totino’s was taking off online.
Cole Spiess
The wonderful Cole Spiess contributed many of the images that made Totino’s go viral.