Pizza Hut, Pop Culture's Pizza

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Pizza Hut, Pop Culture's Pizza

by Paramount Advertising

 

Superbowl LVIII: Making History

Super Bowl LVIII and Paramount delivered the ultimate entertainment experience, attracting a staggering 123.7 million viewers across networks and was the most watched television event in history. The Super Bowl is no ordinary sporting event. It's a pop culture powerhouse that grips the nation every year. From show-stopping halftime performances, gripping gameplay and celebrity buzz, it’s where brands have the chance to make history.

Seizing an Iconic Moment

Paramount took on the exciting challenge of positioning Pizza Hut as the undisputed “Pizza of Pop Culture” by leveraging the power of sports and the Super Bowl. Pizza Hut’s hot new honey product and “Pizza wHut?” hero messaging was promoted through a star-studded campaign cementing their iconic status in pop culture.

 

Bringing the Sweet & Heat

Pizza Hut fueled the Super Bowl hype with a sizzling campaign teasing pop culture’s hottest new “item”, celebrity power couple: actress Antonia Gentry and NFL star Tommy Devito, dubbed #sweetandheat. The real sweet and heat item? Pizza Hut's new honey product, unveiled in a surprise twist. The spot, amplified by cameos from CBS Sports talent aired live during CBS’ pre-game coverage and was distributed across CBS Sports and Pizza Hut’s social media accounts.

Serving up Results

The campaign drove significant lift in unaided ad awareness, unaided brand awareness and purchase consideration, as well as delivering lift in “a brand for someone like me.” The fan favorite ad was ranked as one of the top 2024 Super Bowl ads by SB Nation, Fansided and more. Furthermore, 93% of those polled agreed that the partnership between CBS Sports and Pizza Hut was a good idea.

The Paramount Advertising Insights Hub is for smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us with additional questions.

Breaking Barriers: ViiV’s PrEP Push

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Breaking Barriers: ViiV’s PrEP Push

by Paramount Advertising

 

 

You Better Werk it, Brands!

The conversation surrounding best practices for marketing to the LGBTQ+ community and the fear of brand missteps highlights important questions around how brands can genuinely embrace inclusivity in their marketing. Brands need to extend audience and consumer trust outside high-profile moments like Pride Month and foster meaningful connections with the LGBTQ+ community year-round. RuPaul’s Drag Race, a cultural touchstone for 16 seasons, is a powerful platform for celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, educating viewers on critical issues and an opportunity for brands to forge meaningful and resonant brand partnerships around the LGBTQ+ community. 

At the Intersection of Entertainment and Education

ViiV Healthcare teamed up with Paramount and RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16 to disrupt traditional pharma advertising. The goal? To create a cultural connection that breaks down the stigma surrounding HIV PrEP, a crucial tool for prevention and ultimately improving health outcomes within the queer community.

 

PrEP on the Runway

ViiV Healthcare broke new ground with a season-long, first-of-its-kind content partnership that highlighted their PrEP options. The comprehensive 360 program featured the biggest premiere event and first ever Drag Race fashion show in franchise herstory, custom content featuring Season 15 winner Sasha Colby and a bespoke interview segment with judge Michelle Visage that aired during each episode.  

 

Sashay to Success

The ViiV Healthcare and RuPaul’s Drag Race partnership surpassed benchmarks across all key brand metrics. The campaign significantly boosted category association, brand awareness, ad recall and brand opinion. Notably, 9 out of 10 viewers acknowledged the show’s positive impact on promoting ViiV Healthcare. The campaign’s success was further amplified by the strategic placement of commercials for Apretude, the company’s PrEP brand which saw triple-digit lifts in brand awareness and double- digit lifts in brand opinion.

The Paramount Advertising Insights Hub is for smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us for additional questions.

VMAs: 40 Years of Fandom and Fun

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VMAs: 40 Years of Fandom and Fun

by Paramount Advertising

 

 

In 2024, the VMAs celebrated its 40th anniversary with a star-studded event in New York, reaching its biggest audience in 4 years and dominating social media with a record-breaking 66M+ interactions. Fans love getting in on the action, casting over 1.1 BILLION votes across categories. It's undeniable that the VMAs are the most iconic, fearless and culturally relevant award show on TV.  

The Ultimate Stage for Music and Pop Culture

A QSR advertiser returned for its fifth year as a VMAs sponsor to spark buzz for its new drink item. The goal: to embed the brand into summer and music culture while driving interest in their new drink, particularly with Zillennials. What better way to do that then to showcase the new product in the hottest music event of the season?  

 

Bringing the Campaign to Life

To make a splash, Paramount teamed world-renowned choreographers Les Twins and music legend Sean Paul to reimagine the iconic summer music video, “Temperature”, featuring the brand’s new drink. The brand and its new product were immersed in all things VMAs. The sponsorship included a Video of the Year voting sponsorship, red carpet moment and social, in-show and on-the-ground presence, turning the product launch into a cultural moment.  

 

Refreshing Results, Cool Payoff

The campaign drove a major sales boost, especially among Zillennials. Overall sales lift of the drink surpassed QSR norms by 4x, and there was a +13% sales lift among A18-24. Viewers loved the Les Twins and Sean Paul collab, with nearly all viewers saying they were a good fit and that the sponsorship was a good idea. The brand’s longstanding partnership with VMAs continued to deliver, seeing the best performance in 5 years across 20 brand and creative metrics. No stage connects brands to music, summer, and pop culture like the VMAs, and the QSR brand and its new drink item stole the summer spotlight. 

The Paramount Advertising Insights Hub is for smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us for additional questions.

Nostalgia Squared: Wendy’s Celebrates 25 Years of SpongeBob

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Nostalgia Squared: Wendy’s Celebrates 25 Years of SpongeBob

by Paramount Advertising

 

 

The Challenge: Drive in-store traffic

In a competitive QSR landscape, Wendy’s needed a way to stand out and connect with younger audiences while reinforcing its cultural relevance. The objective was twofold: drive in-store traffic and sales while creating a moment that fans would remember and share.

 

The Solution: Tap SpongeBob IP for a first-ever collaboration

To celebrate SpongeBob SquarePants’ 25th anniversary in the fall of 2024, Wendy’s partnered with Paramount Advertising for the first-ever Krabby Patty Kollab, introducing a limited-time menu inspired by Bikini Bottom. This wasn’t just a product launch, it was a cultural event. Fans have speculated for years about the taste of a Krabby Patty, and Wendy’s brought that curiosity to life with its own twist, alongside a Pineapple Under the Sea Frosty. The collaboration spanned more than 6,700 locations across 12 markets, including the U.S., Canada and select international regions.

 

Watch the national commercial here:  

Paramount Advertising’s insights into heirloom fandoms, where parents and kids share beloved IP, were central to the strategy. SpongeBob is one of the rare franchises that bridges generations, and nostalgia became the emotional hook. The campaign leveraged custom creative, influencer activations and social-first content to amplify the experience across Paramount channels and beyond.  

 

The Results: Lift in sales, purchase intent and brand impact

The Krabby Patty Kollab didn’t just trend, it delivered real business impact. Fans responded immediately: the campaign trended #1 and #2 on Snapchat, with 125 creators driving a social footprint of 452M, and generated 111M views, 3.5M engagements and 903 posts across platforms. 

Impact on Sales:

• 7% lift in restaurant visits and 4% lift in overall sales, a 2x lift vs QSR category norm

• Nearly 50% of Krabby Patty Kollab limited time offer product sales were influenced by SpongeBob fandom or nostalgia

 

Impact on Behavior:

• 5x lift in Purchase Intent

• 81% of A18-24 said they would be more likely to consider Wendy's after seeing the campaign

 

Impact on Brand:

• 5x lift in Brand Familiarity

• 3x lift in Brand Favorability

• 2x lift in Unaided Awareness

Source: Paramount Audience Impact & Intelligence, ABCS Research, Q42024

 

By tapping into nostalgia and cultural relevance, Wendy’s and Paramount Advertising turned a beloved cartoon into a real-world experience that drove measurable growth and showcased the power of fandom.

 

The Paramount Advertising Insights Hub is for smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us with additional questions. 

Streaming Performs for LWD's Top Clients

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Streaming Performs for LWD's Top Clients

by Paramount Advertising

 

 

Lockard & Wechsler Direct (LWD), a full-service direct response agency, partnered with Paramount Advertising to support top clients, aiming to achieve key performance metrics such as Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and Cost Per Lead (CPL). By leveraging Paramount’s owned and operated streaming platforms in combination with LWD’s SmartMatch360® attribution tool, the campaigns achieved strong results across multiple Paramount streaming properties.

 

The Challenge: Scale media spend without exceeding cost per acquisition

Various brands faced the challenges of scaling media spend to deliver efficient incremental audience reach without exceeding CPA goals, driving incremental lead generation while maintaining CPL targets and sustaining growth, with investment increases that would not negatively impact performance.

 

The Solution: Platform diversification and continuous optimization

To address these challenges, the strategy included platform diversification, and expanding support across Paramount Streaming, Paramount+, and Pluto TV. This approach ensured a broad yet targeted reach to the intended audiences. SmartMatch360® data played a key role in continuously optimizing the campaigns, ensuring that CPA and CPL remained within the target ranges even as media spend scaled up.

The Results: Increases in media spend, investment and lead generation

As a result of these strategies, Paramount Advertising successfully scaled media spend by 5x for its brand partners while keeping CPA goals intact. Plus, a 10x increase in investment led to a significant rise in lead generation, while maintaining CPL targets. This partnership between LWD and Paramount Advertising highlights the effectiveness of combining data-driven optimization with strategic media diversification to achieve sustained growth while driving business impact.

The Paramount Advertising Insights Hub is for smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us with additional questions.

A Big Mac Launch with Big Name Talent

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A Big Mac Launch with Big Name Talent

by Paramount Advertising

 

 

When McDonald’s introduced the Chicken Big Mac, they led with a simple but provocative question: “Is it really a Big Mac?” To spark a debate worthy of the menu remix, McDonald’s needed more than an ad–they needed a moment. That’s where Paramount stepped in.

 

The Challenge: Create a conversation that feels genuinely “fan-to-fan"

Launching the Chicken Big Mac required more than just awareness. McDonald’s wanted to reimagine the Big Mac category completely, and spark a playful debate across audiences, especially with younger consumers who respond most to creator-led, culturally immersive content.

To watch the clip, click here or click the image above.

The Solution: Pair a modern creator icon with a beloved Paramount star

McDonald’s identified a unique creative unlock: Kai Cenat is, in many ways, a modern-day “iCarly” – a creator who built a massively loyal audience through unscripted, personality-driven livestreams.

 

So, Paramount brought in Miranda Cosgrove, the face of an iconic franchise built on internet fandom, to join Kai live on stream for a special crossover segment: “KaiCarly.”

 

Together, they sampled the Chicken Big Mac, compared it to the original and recreated the playful spirit of iCarly with IP nods including music, tone and fan-favorite callbacks. The moment felt strangely familiar and entirely new at the same time, bridging generations of fans and lighting up social feeds.

 

This wasn’t about celebrity endorsement. It was about activating Paramount IP in a way that felt native to internet culture, giving fans a crossover they didn’t know they needed.

 

The Results: A cross-over that delivered massive earned attention

The Chicken Big Mac campaign, powered in part by the “KaiCarly” collaboration, became one of McDonald’s strongest engagement drivers in recent history:

This collaboration proved what we know to be true: IP plus creator culture creates real, measurable fandom energy. By pairing Miranda Cosgrove with Kai Cenat, Paramount helped McDonald’s tap into two powerful, multi-generational fandoms at once.

 

Sourcing: Shorty Awards, Wieden+Kennedy

 

The Paramount Advertising Insights Hub is for smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us for additional questions.

iMemories Drives 65K+ Site Visits with Paramount Ads Manager

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iMemories Drives 65K+ Site Visits with Paramount Ads Manager

by Paramount Advertising

 

 

As CTV becomes a more performance-driven channel, advertisers are seeking clearer measurement and more transparency. Using Paramount Ads Manager, iMemories attributed 65,000+ qualified site visits directly to its CTV campaign, turning premium inventory into measurable outcomes.

 

The Challenge: Streamline media buying and drive qualified site traffic

While iMemories had experience advertising on CTV, the team questioned whether third-party platforms were limiting access to top-tier inventory and highly engaged audiences. They set out to gain greater control over where their ads appeared and focus on driving higher-quality traffic to their site.

 

The Solution: Unlock premium inventory with direct attribution insights

By adding Paramount Ads Manager to their marketing mix, iMemories gained direct access to premium, culturally relevant content across CBS, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and more. Over the course of one month, the team launched five targeted campaigns to test audience segments and geographic markets across the U.S.

 

To better understand performance, iMemories implemented the Paramount Ads Manager Pixel, enabling direct attribution between ad exposure and on-site visits.

To watch the clip, click here or click the image above.

The Results: Impressions that turned into actions

The campaign delivered strong, measurable performance:

  • 1.3M+ impressions across premium CTV inventory
  • 65,000+ attributed site visits driven by Paramount Ads Manager
  • Clear visibility into which campaigns, audiences, and markets drove engagement


Together, these results demonstrate how premium content, precise targeting, and real attribution can help brands reach audiences who are ready to act.

 

To learn more about Paramount Ads Manager, visit: https://adsmanager.paramount.com/

 

The Paramount Advertising Insights Hub is for smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us for additional questions.

Case Study

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STORIES THAT MOVE YOU

 

Powered by story and accelerated by technology, we develop breakthrough creative, innovative advertising solutions and data-driven experiences that connect brands with the right audiences at the right moment across every platform. Explore the work.

Case Studies

iMemories Drives 65K+ Site Visits with Paramount Ads Manager
A Big Mac Launch with Big Name Talent
Streaming Performs for LWD's Top Clients
Nostalgia Squared: Wendy’s Celebrates 25 Years of SpongeBob
VMAs: 40 Years of Fandom and Fun
Breaking Barriers: ViiV’s PrEP Push
Pizza Hut, Pop Culture's Pizza
Mastercard Makes a Sustainable Statement at The GRAMMYs

The Rise of “Ineffable Creativity”

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The Rise of “Ineffable Creativity”

Have you ever tried to describe how White Claw tastes? One X user says it’s like “drinking TV static while someone screams the name of a fruit from another room.” Another user points out that “this tomato is so Loewe,” a whimsical idea that Jonathan Anderson, the creative designer behind Loewe, took literally and turned into a clutch bag. Then there's Wisdom Kaye, known for his genuine passion for fashion-based self-expression; he styled himself as iconic typefaces by interpreting abstract fonts like Papyrus and Comic Sans as distinct personalities.

 

At first, these signals might seem unrelated, but they show a desire to represent objects that defy easy classification – a shift toward difficult-to-describe experiences that people are itching to put a finger on… ones that are decidedly ineffable. 

Seeing Sounds and Feeling Colors

Examples of synesthesia – or, the ability to connect different senses, like translating flavors into visual experiences, or typography into fashion – appear to be bubbling up across the creative world. The practice of blending experiences from one medium with another isn’t new. Through themed runway challenges, RuPaul’s Drag Race’s queens have mainstreamed the niche art form of translating complex ideas into high fashion and visual spectacle for years, whether it’s interpreting post-apocalyptic societal collapse, or embodying the powerful message of the Black Lives Matter movement.

 

Today this practice is taking on new forms, thanks to people with synesthesia fusing creativity with their condition. Creators like Sarah Kraning are translating sounds such as Chappell Roan’s latest single into intriguing colors and patterns. Another synesthete Shane Guffog’s senses are cross-wired to “hear colors,” which has led him to work with musicians to unlock and compose the musicality of his paintings. Songwriter and producer Finneas has also sparked conversations around the intersection of art and sensory perception after revealing how his synesthetic experiences influences music creation.

 

One brand that has successfully experimented with sensory crossovers is Spotify, which embraced the mix of music and visuals with its Audio Aura feature as part of its 2021 Wrapped campaign. It assigns colors to moods based on music listening habits, with help from aura reader Mystic Michaela. 

Naming The Unnameable

The fascination with personal interpretation and subjective experiences is extending to all sorts of discussions, like whether certain ages feel young or old, or how people picture months in a year mentally. Even the phrase “very demure, very mindful” made popular by trans creator Jools Lebron playfully mocks the feminine-coded culture of mindfulness, encouraging people to lighten up and share their own niche interpretations of the word.

 

Armed with endless slang and snappy microtrends, the internet is getting really creative at “vibes diagnosis,” the practice of putting a name to otherwise uncommunicable concepts or personalities, whether it’s assigning or taking away “aura points,” or calculating someone’s rizz factor. Although the phrase “it’s giving” has been around since the ’80s, shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race have brought it new relevance to describe styles or performances with a certain vibe.

“Hybrid Creative” in the Age of AI

Underscoring this ineffable content trend are emotional nuance and intricate perception: two qualities that brands still struggle to master. One-size-fits-all slogans and clichéd taglines – now made easier to produce by AI tools –might not work as well as they used to. But AI’s arrival onto the scene has ushered in a new era of creativity – giving brands new ways to engage dynamically, generate and explore creative directions more expansively, and automate processes to help them produce, distribute, and target with ease.

 

But the greater the efficiency that AI infuses into everyday life, the more people seek moments that stop them in their tracks. Some estimates predict 90% of online content could be AI-generated by 2025. Consumers are increasingly discerning, ad-literate shoppers who will seek out campaigns and experiences that feel bespoke and authentic. As marketers try to break through the noise of an increasingly AI-augmented reality, the human touch still remains an inextricable part of the equation.

 

The Ineffable Factor

Looking ahead, AI will undoubtedly transform and complement human creativity – the humanization of AI is already underway, with OpenAI’s “strawberry” o1 model demonstrating human-like reasoning. But the challenge for brands and creatives is to harness the ineffable factor – those unique, un-promptable elements that this hybrid creativity can produce. This could involve exploring unexpected ways to create, such as fantastical product mash-ups (hot fudge sundae water, anyone?) and uncanny sensory crossovers. For instance, Mugler's Angel fragrance popup in London's Selfridges used a Synesthesia Chamber to merge light, color, sound, and scent, creating an ethereal experience for shoppers.

 

As generative AI becomes more prevalent and marketers feel the pressure to adapt their skills to create alongside AI, their success hinges on whether at the start of the creative process, they ask “what would AI not do?” rather than try to mimic AI’s capabilities. As discussed in our previous article about AI’s cross-category impact, AI can feel antagonistic to humanity, but, if reassessed, our relationship to it may lead us to realize that it isn’t a replacement to human thinking – it’s a gateway to amplifying what makes us human.

 

Paramount Advertising's Insights Hub showcases smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us for additional questions.

The New Recipe For Popular

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The New Recipe For Popular

With more than 200 available streaming services and social media apps galore, global audiences now have a staggering amount of access to content they love. With this abundance, though, comes choice paralysis: how does one pick between a seemingly infinite number of shows, movies, and channels: will it be the latest Tracker or a favorite rerun of Basketball Wives; the latest nail-biting game on Golazo; the latest queen going viral on RuPaul’s Drag Race?

 

One thing’s for sure: viewers hold the power. When people enjoy greater control over what, when, how, and why they watch something, it redefines what gets deemed popular.

 

“Popular” used to be defined by three main factors: being the most-watched, talked about, and critically acclaimed. Today the recipe has been adjusted, and not just for flavor. Popularity is increasingly fan-driven and fundamentally more communal. From Barbenheimer and Dune to the Super Bowl and the Grammys, the past two years have been punctuated by several, pivotal monocultural moments – experiences shared by people from all walks of life, coming together to participate in something together. Consumers want content that allows them to bond, with 86% saying that content must connect different people in different ways, in order for it to be considered popular. This version of popular culture is now more democratic, more engaged and helps consumers find connection in disjointed times.

 

In some ways, “popular” has become hard to define. 85% of consumers think a show is popular when it’s talked about – even without an upcoming new season. Another 83% say popularity is more about what viewers think versus what critics say – signaling the reign of peer reviews. And then there are 81% of consumers who say the shows they watch most frequently are not always the ones they talk about the most, which means the most popular content out there might be flying under the radar.

 

85% of consumers think a show is popular when it's talked about – even without an upcoming new season. – The New Collectivism Study, Paramount, 2023

 

If there are so many nuances to why people consider a piece of content “popular”, how do you break through the noise? What does “popular” even mean? In our study The New Collectivism, we explored the shifting definition of popularity and its foundational elements.

 

When asked to rank what they look for in popular content, consumers said it has to be the talk of the town, have longevity, provide an escape, promote new ways of thinking and reflect culture today. These characteristics cross categories – from Sports, to award shows, to series and movies. Brands and marketers can use these expectations to dimensionalize popularity and create content that truly strikes a chord.

 

Popular Content is Talked About

Content that is well-known and viral makes us feel part of something larger than just ourselves. Highly anticipated tentpole events like the Super Bowl and the VMAs are clear examples. But series with fresh and original premises - like Love Island and Emily In Paris – also have the potential for breakout popularity, providing new, creative frames of reference for addressing modern-day challenges.

 

Popular Content has Longevity

The ability for content to withstand the test of time is also an important factor. The Scream series and Survivor franchise prove that familiarity can lead to consistent popularity, through playing on tropes with multigenerational appeal, and formulas that feel consistent, yet fresh and appealing.

 

Popular Content Provides an Escape

Popular content also often provides a way to escape - whether at the theater, at home, in singular moments, or as something to always look forward to The Champions League finals, Yellowstone and Dungeons & Dragons might seem dissimilar on their surface, but beloved events, shows and movies like these share in their ability to transport their viewers from their everyday lives - and provide a moment of escape.

 

Popular Content Thinks Differently

Content that pushes viewers to learn new and different things inspires their growth – through exposure to niche communities and interests, or by offering alternative windows into well-known people, places, cultures and moments. Shows like The Bear and RuPaul’s Drag Race have generated deep fandoms by helping people more deeply understand the worlds of restaurants and drag, respectively, in original, and authentic ways.

 

Popular Content Should Reflect Culture

Popular content also often mirrors culture of the times and the ups and downs of everyday life. Shows like South Park and The Curse are examples of how real-world narratives can be adapted to the screen through humor, raw truths, and meticulous character-building.

 

Paramount Advertising's Insights Hub showcases smart, always-on insights and creative inspiration to help partners thrive in the ever-evolving media landscape. Contact your Paramount Advertising sales representative to schedule a presentation, or reach out to us for additional questions.

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