PLANO, Texas, March 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In
1995, Pizza Hut upped the ante by encouraging America to eat their
pizza backwards because Stuffed Crust was just that good. Now, 20
years later, Pizza Hut is changing the game again by offering
America the chance to sink a half-court shot for a $1 million prize. They just have to do it
backwards.
"Making half-court shots has become a little too commonplace, so
as we upped the ante 20 years ago by stuffing cheese inside pizza
crust, we're doing it again by challenging America to make a
half-court shot backwards," said Jared
Drinkwater, Vice President of Marketing, Pizza Hut. "The
great thing is that even if you won't be in Indianapolis, you
still have a shot at this $1 million
prize. We can't wait to see what happens on April 5."
The company will hold a live event, hosted by Jay Williams, college basketball analyst, at the
legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse in
Indianapolis, Ind., on
Sunday, April 5, where four fans will
attempt the backwards half-court shot for $1
million. Pizza Hut fans from across the country can enter
for a chance to win a spot in the contest by visiting
www.stuffedcrustshot.com by Sunday, March
29. Three winners, chosen at random and announced on
Tuesday, March 31, will win a trip to
Indianapolis to compete.
Between 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. on
Sunday, Pizza Hut will host a shoot-around at Hinkle; one
lucky fan that participates in the shoot-around and can make a
backwards lay-up will win the chance to be the fourth competitor in
the $1 million backwards half-court
shot contest. The official contest will kick-off at 4:00 p.m., with each competitor getting one
attempt at making the backwards half-court shot. Everyone in
attendance will be able to try all of Pizza Hut's new Stuffed
Crust flavors.
To ensure the whole nation gets a piece of the pie, Pizza Hut
will offer half off all Stuffed Crust Pizza orders on April 9 if a competitor sinks the backwards
half-court shot.
"Few things can make a crowd go wild like a made half-court
shot, so I can only imagine the reaction a made backwards
half-court shot for a million dollars is going to get," said
Jay Williams, college basketball
analyst and former All-American. "I cannot wait to see what happens
in Indianapolis. This is certainly
an exciting and flavorful way to celebrate the 20-year anniversary
of Stuffed Crust Pizza."
The 20th Anniversary of Stuffed Crust Pizza also includes a
throwback price of $9.99 for a
1-topping large Stuffed Crust Pizza, the original price the company
sold it for 20 years ago. It will be supported by an advertisement
featuring basketball legend and one of the league's leading
stuffers, David Robinson, who
starred in the original Stuffed Crust commercial, and broadcasting
legend Dick Vitale. Walking through
a "Hall of Stuffed Stuff," Robinson relives his original
commercial, and the idea of a crust so good, you want to eat it
first. The commercial can be viewed by visiting
www.YouTube.com/PizzaHut.
Stuffed Crust changed the pizza game when Pizza Hut first
debuted it in 1995, increasing sales for the company by
$300 million in its first year. Over
the past 20 years, it has also become a platform for global
innovation, such as Marmite Stuffed Crust in Australia and Cheese Jalapeno Stuffed Crust in
Oman, as well as a multi-billion
dollar business for Pizza Hut.
Customers can now enjoy their favorite Stuffed Crust Pizza with
more flavor than ever before. As part of the Flavor of Now menu
launch in November, Stuffed Crust can be ordered with any of the 10
new crust flavors such as Hut Favorite, Honey Sriracha and Salted
Pretzel, and include any of the five new base sauces, four all-new
sauce drizzles and five new premium ingredients. These favorites
can be ordered at pizzahut.com or by visiting any of the Pizza Hut
locations nationwide.
About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum!
Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than
any other restaurant in the world. The company began 57 years ago
in Wichita, Kansas, when two
brothers borrowed $600 from their mom
to start a pizzeria. What started out small has become the biggest
pizza company in the world and today operates more than 15,600
restaurants in more than 90 countries serving innovative pizzas,
traditional favorites like the signature Pan Pizza, and much more.
Pizza Hut also is the proprietor of the BOOK IT!® Program, which is
a long-standing children's literacy program used in more than
630,000 classrooms nationwide. For more information, visit
www.pizzahut.com. Follow Pizza Hut on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/PizzaHut) and Twitter
(www.twitter.com/pizzahut).
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SOURCE Pizza Hut