• by Karlene Lukovitz , February 2, 2017

Pizza Hut, which expects to deliver a record 2 million-plus pizzas this coming Super Bowl Sunday, is aiming to boost those numbers with a three-part video series featuring Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams. 

Turns out that Williams was actually a Pizza Hut employee in his younger days, making him the ideal guy to put a rookie Pizza Hut delivery guy through his paces in preparation for the biggest pizza day of the year.

In a takeoff on the NFL’s annual Scouting Combine week, when college football players are put through physical and mental tests so that NFL coaches and officials can evaluate them, the Pizza Hut videos show DeAngelo taking the young guy through “combine” drills with pizza delivery-themed challenges.

The first video, posted on the brand’s Facebook page and YouTube (below), shows the “Curb-to-Door Hustle”; others demonstrate the “Pen Search” and a “Lawn Flamingo Cone Drill.” 

The Onion Studios created the videos and will distribute and promote the video content through its platform. They will also be promoted across Pizza Hut’s social channels. 

Pizza Hut’s strategy and marketing are these days focused on improving the customer experience. The company recently announced that it was looking to hire up to 11,000 full-time employees in the U.S., including pizza-makers, drivers, servers and store managers, to enhance service for Super Bowl Sunday and beyond.