Flying Pizza Hut Directly Into This Gamer’s Mouth
What’s a more iconic duo than gamers and pizza? In fact, the Livewire Global Pizza Hut research for 2023 discovered a curious insight – nearly 80% of gen z eat fast food while gaming and their top choice at 62% is, in fact, pizza.
This revelation inevitably led to the pizza brand’s partnership with none other than Xbox, centred around the idea of ‘Together We Pizza’ and celebrating the moments of togetherness that the Italian dish and gaming bring to people. It was the Miai Brand Partnerships creative agency that was tasked with making some noise around the collab and bringing it to the attention of hungry gamers.
The result was an un-scrollable social media-first campaign with, of course, flying pizza. Gone are the days of going out for pizza - the pizza is coming for you. Inspired by the latest and greatest FPV drone technology, Miai decided to commit to the somewhat risky task of flying their hero slice of pizza through an entire home, at almost 40mph, ultimately delivering it directly into the mouth of the gamer. All of this from the pizza’s POV!
With zero cuts in the film, the campaign generated a flurry of reactionary activity and did the impossible - held gen z’s attention. Beyond this, it managed to promote Pizza Hut’s newest handcrafted pizzas and offer gamers added value – a one-month PC Game Pass membership, encouraging them to enjoy more gaming moments with pizza in hand.
Miai’s head of creative, Charlie Scowsill, tells LBB more about the dangerous production process and the incredible outcome.
LBB> Firstly, tell me about how you got on this project and what the initial brief was? What is the partnership between the two brands like and how were you best going to depict it?
Charlie> The initial brief was to create a campaign that would seamlessly merge the enjoyment of gaming with the experience of indulging in Pizza Hut’s new handcrafted sourdough pizza range. The goal was to tap into the shared culture of gaming and pizza, especially among gen z, and to offer something that would genuinely excite both communities. We needed to highlight the partnership between Pizza Hut and Xbox in a way that felt organic and enhanced the experience of both brands' customers.
The partnership between Pizza Hut and Xbox is centred around the idea of ‘Together We Pizza’. It’s about celebrating the moments of togetherness that pizza and gaming naturally bring into people’s lives. Both brands share a commitment to creating memorable experiences, whether it's through the perfect pizza or an epic gaming session. This campaign not only promotes Pizza Hut’s new handcrafted sourdough pizzas but also offers gamers an added value – a one-month PC game pass membership – encouraging them to enjoy more gaming moments with pizza in hand.
LBB> And how did you decide on the one pizza slice? What was the ideation process like?
Charlie> The messaging of this campaign was focused on Pizza Hut’s brand-new handcrafted sourdough based pizza. I knew right away that something unexpected would be needed to make this message compelling and attractive. I pay close attention to innovations in visual language - they come around once every couple of years, and you have to make hay while the sun shines. I knew I wanted to create something with FPV drones. These are tiny drones, usually consisting of four sets of blades like a quadcopter, with a GoPro or similar lightweight camera rigged on top. The size and weight of the drone are so small that most crashes aren't fatal, and they can zip in and out of extremely tight spaces.
We've just started to see these used in big Hollywood productions, and the viewing experience they offer on social media is unparalleled – you can be sitting on your couch, threading the needle through impossible spaces like some sort of omnipresent all-seeing eye. I had seen various people take FPV drones to a new level by rigging toys onto the front of them, typically Superman or a space rocket. This creates a playful sense of scale and dynamic movement – then it clicked. What if we rigged a delicious slice of pizza to the drone? This was a funny gag, but it needed layering and exploration to make it coherent with the Pizza Hut messaging. Pizza Hut is known for its wonderfully bold and boisterous branding: ‘You can't out-pizza the Hut’ is a slogan that comes to mind.
What if the pizza wasn't just flying, but flying with purpose, with intent? What if the pizza was unapologetically seeking out hungry gamers? The metaphor aligns well: handcrafted sourdough pizzas are HERE, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it!
LBB> How did you go about the casting and how did you pick the perfect talent for the spot?
Charlie> We were dedicated to achieving authenticity. Theo is natural on camera and that is all we could ask for; social audiences are sensitive and unwilling to engage with disingenuous overexcitement that can be asked of talent to portray on camera.
LBB> Was the pizza entirely animated and if so, how did you do it?
Charlie> Truly, we were dedicated to rigging a real pizza onto the drone at first. It was only when we faced the reality of gravity – and how it affects tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni flying onto the lens – that we had to go back to the lab. There was also the small issue of not wanting to knock poor Theo's teeth out when taking a bite of pizza, with a drone flying at his face at 40 mph.
We decided a hybrid approach would be best. It was the DP Ben Halford's suggestion to use a great program called Polycam, which is a fantastic tool for, simply put, taking 100 photos of a slice of pizza (or anything really) from all angles and converting it into a 3D model that could be imported into 3DS Max. The pizza was then rigged with a skeleton, allowing us to have full control over the motion and flapping of our hero slice.
There is an invisible cut point where we transition from the CG pizza to the real pizza, which I will elaborate on later.
LBB> Tell me about the process of flying it through the house – how did that work?
Charlie> I was the overly cautious Carol in the corner, telling our drone operator, "You don't have to get it right the first time; I understand this is going to be extremely difficult." But Milton smashed it every time – he’s an absolute pro. There were literally no complications whatsoever with flying indoors; we were incredibly lucky to have such a talented pilot on board.
The only issue we faced was when, mid-flight, a door slammed shut from the wind. Milton, of course, did a U-turn with ninja reflexes to avoid leaving a drone-shaped cartoon cutout in the bathroom door.
LBB> What gear did you use and why?
Charlie> The FPV drone was one of Milford's custom carbon-fibre frames. We rigged a GoPro on top after experimenting with different cameras, but the weight of other payloads took away the twitchy responsiveness that the GoPro provides. Plus, GoPros can survive lava, while a Red Raptor is an expensive and fragile piece of kit to risk losing to gravity if anything goes wrong.
When transitioning to the interior shots, we used a RONIN rig with a BMPC attached. Matching the GoPro look and feel was an interesting challenge.
A GoPro lens is roughly comparable to somewhere between 8mm and 12mm on a Super 35 sensor. My instinct was that we'd need Chinese glass, as brands like Laowa offer a wider range of unique lens types (that are within budget). We paired the BMPC with a 12mm Laowa rectilinear lens, which was the widest we could achieve with a fairly generous focal range at wide open.
Our final secret weapon was, well, breadsticks.
LBB> Were there any challenges through the shoot and how did you overcome them?
Charlie> We were filming in reverse order to the edit: starting with the pizza going into the mouth via the RONIN, then stitching this to the FPV footage. This meant that every pizza slice sacrificed to Theo's mouth had to be scanned. I would take an approved piece of pizza, literally sprint downstairs to the kitchen countertop, take 100 pictures for the photogrammetry scan under even lighting, then run back upstairs shouting, "HERO PIZZA COMING TO SET!" This was truly a labour of love.
The biggest challenge was balancing the pizza on a RONIN. The initial idea was to use the camera plate rods, but it would have been incredibly unsafe to put metal rods anywhere near Theo's teeth. We relied on the genius engineering of breadsticks: just rigid enough to support the structure of the pizza, but just brittle enough to be safely eaten.
The breadsticks did break on occasion, of course. We debated leaving them outside to harden and go stale before realising that they were, in fact, already stale. Regardless, breadsticks were essential for keeping the flying pizza rigid and safe to eat.
LBB> And likewise, what was the most fun part of it?
Charlie> It's always a joy to film something that hasn't been done before (to my knowledge). Briefing the actors on what is about to happen and seeing the disbelief on their faces will never stop being amusing. "That's crazy." Yes, yes, it is – but believe!
Once the drone is in flight, you're no longer at the wheel directing the piece. You're letting the chaos unfold and doing your best to capture it. It was a highly immersive way of filming, and I hope to do something like it again in the future.
