In a nod to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ favorite food, Pizza Hut served up its signature dish to select customers in the subways of New York City, the company announced.
The limited-time underground deliveries were part of a promotion for the upcoming film, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which hits theaters August 2, according to a news release.
“Pizza Hut and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a longstanding history that goes back to the ’90s. Bringing the two together again for a new generation was a no-brainer,” said Pizza Hut’s chief marketing officer, Lindsay Morgan, in the release.
“We wanted to pay homage to the Turtles’ origins and their love of pizza, while also infusing modern touchpoints and a fun, creative take on pizza deliveries,” Morgan said.
Select pizza lovers in Manhattan got to experience the out-of-the-ordinary pizza-ordering experience by texting a turtle emoji to a special phone number.
The text placed an order for a Pizza Hut meal that the company said would be delivered “within minutes” to designated pizza drop zones within a subway station, the release stated.
A YouTube video from the pizza company showed subway travelers appearing in disbelief at Union Square station as the pizza they ordered via text was hand delivered to them.
The underground delivery test was also a reference to the fictional crime-fighting turtles’ home within New York City’s sewer system.
Pizza Hut has previously been involved with promoting films in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe.
In 2014, the company unveiled a life-sized version of the turtles’ pizza-throwing van at the San Diego Comic-Con, according to MTV. The van was featured in the cartoon based on the characters that aired during the 1980s and 1990s.
