• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 6, 2006

Atmosphere BBDO executed its first ever Super Bowl campaign tie-in on Sunday for Pizza Hut, with a Web site extending BBDO's TV spot featuring Jessica Simpson. The Super Bowl commercial--in which Simpson serenades a bar full of Muppets with Pizza Hut's new Cheesy Bites pizza--directed viewers with a URL to Atmosphere's site.

On the site, Simpson welcomes visitors, asking: "Are you ready for bites? Start poppin'." From there, guests are encouraged to play with a Cheesy Bites pie--clicking on individual bites and pepperoni slices produces various sound effects and rhythms, which can be used to score the TV spot however they like. The personalized commercials can then be sent to friends.

"The first thing we thought when we sat down to do this was, 'this is a really interactive pizza!'" said Patrick Clarke, creative director, Atmosphere BBDO. "That idea obviously lends itself to the role the site plays in the campaign. We wanted to give people a way to get used to the idea of playing with the pizza."

The site also prominently displays an 'Order Now' button, for those visitors who want to order a pie.

Added Clarke: "We didn't just want to put the TV ad online, which people might watch once or twice. Letting people interact with the commercial and make it theirs, they could end up watching it six or seven times."