Pizza Hut Puts Fluent Devices on the Menu

We’re back after a quick holiday with a cracker of an ad from Pizza Hut, “Now That’s Delivering”, in which their (fictional) brand ambassador Parker J Patterson demonstrates a lot of satisfying things, none of which are quite as satisfying as a Pan Pizza from the Hut.

Pizza Hut – and their agency Iris – has been quietly building up Parker J Patterson over their last couple of years of advertising, turning the genial pizza enthusiast into a familiar face and in the process creating a Fluent Device. Fluent Devices, you’ll remember, are recurring characters or scenarios in ads which brands can hang narrative on and which build enjoyment and brand recognition at the same time.

Patterson’s role in “Now That’s Delivering” isn’t as spectacular as some of the previous ads, but he’s still the centre of the ad, with Pizza Hut confident enough in his appeal to show him in a whole bunch of quick and entertaining scenarios. The high point is his surreal appearance as a tiny baby, but there’s plenty of other vignettes to enjoy.

The strategy is clearly working. “Now That’s Delivering” puts the brand in the top rank of ads with a 5.0-Star score. But just as importantly, the ad also gets exceptional scores on Spike (predicting short-term impact) and Fluency (measuring ease of recognition).

So not only does the ad make people feel good, it’s also mouthwatering enough to drive short term sales, and its association with its brand is extremely strong. It’s the trifecta every ad wants to achieve, but many fall short of. And a lot of the credit has to go to Patterson J Parker, an excellent Fluent Device.