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Pizza Hut With Mint Juleps? QSR In Derby Push

It's probably safe to say that most people think mint juleps, not Pizza Hut, when they think Kentucky Derby.

But parent Yum Brands and the Derby are both based in Louisville, and Yum is a presenting sponsor of the race. So Pizza Hut is doing its best to become part of the 140-year-old sport traditionally associated with the gentry.

Between April 30 and Derby day, May 3, the pizza chain is pushing a deal wherein those who buy a large pizza can get an order of the chain's popular breadsticks -- temporarily rechristened "Thoroughbread Sticks" -- for $2.

And to promote the deal, Pizza Hut had designer Angela Bacskocky create classic Derby-style women's hats (shown) out of Pizza Hut pizza boxes and Wingstreet wings boxes. 

The hats will be displayed in the infield on race day. 

In addition, the QSR ran a Twitter-based sweeps with three prizes consisting of one of the hats and a $20 Pizza Hut gift card. The sweeps promotion period wasn't that much longer than the Derby itself. Fans were given just one hour on May 1 to enter, by following Pizza Hut on Twitter and tweeting to @pizzahut using #thoroughbreadsticks.

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