Little Caesars’ latest campaign stars San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle playing five humans — and a golden retriever— in a new sitcom spoof.
The 30-second spot, called The Kittles and created by McKinney, shows the NFL player win over his brothers, who complain a lot, with the pizza chain’s new item: the 3 Meat Treat with pepperoni, Italian sausage and bacon.
The pizza chain also worked with Kittle on a 2023 campaign.
“We wrote this script with him in mind and knew he would absolutely knock [it] out of the park. His energy on set, comedic sensibilities and willingness to put himself out there made him the perfect fit for these roles,” Jameson Rossi, group creative director for McKinney, said of Kittle.
The ads were produced using body replacement visual effects, Rossi said.
“George would do all of the lines (along with his body doubles), but they had to stay in similar positions,” Rossi said. “If one hand or ponytail was too far off, we had to use a different shot.”
The campaign will run on linear TV, streaming and social media, with a focus on Instagram.
Fellow football star Travis Kelce has already commented on an Instagram Reel of the video with a series of laughing emojis and “So [expletive] good man.” Rossi said Kelce’s response was organic rather than paid.
In addition to McKinney, Cylndr worked on production; Genesco Sports Enterprises managed NFL and athlete sponsorship; and Horizon Media handled media buying.
