What's Up in Pizza: Aphrocheesiac, Epic Pizza Toss, NYC Pizza Petition, and More!

There's no expiration date on sharing the love for Pizza Hut Canada, it seems. According to Broadway World, even though Valentine's Day has passed the chain plans on romancing 100 fans with a little gift: Aphrocheesiac. Pizza Hut Canada's digital team along with ad agency partner GRIP have pulled similar stunts before (2012's "Eau de Pizza Hut" comes to mind). So, what is Aphrocheesiac exactly? It's a shaker full of a "seductive combination" of Parmesan and chili flakes. "Canadian Pizza Hut fans are funny and inventive, so their comments and messages inspire us to find new ways to have fun and celebrate how Pizza Hut brings people together," says Tatiana Carrascal, Director of Marketing for Pizza Hut Canada. I have to say, I'm not a huge chain person (a choice made easy for me by growing up in New York City), but I definitely appreciate these places distributing quirky little small-scale gifts on occasion. Watch the ad segment for Aphrocheesiac:

And here's a little gem brought to us via Uproxx. Captured by Thomas Scott Oldbury (through his blinds—this video isn't without its mild creepiness), the clip showcases a pizza delivery guy very efficiently and precisely hurling a pie up to a waiting, third-story customer. The trick is pretty impressive, but I did come away wondering what state that pie was in when the box was finally opened up.

If you're plugged into the Twitter-verse (something I've never really managed) you might be aware of DiGiorno, especially after their semi-infamous live tweet of NBC's December broadcast of "The Sound of Music". The wisecracking, snarky personality they've adopted wasn't born out of thin air—as Digiday has it, it was a calculated decision by the brand's ad agency, Resource, who advised the company to take advantage of the medium in their efforts to challenge the "big boys" of the pizza community (Domino's, Pizza Hut, etc.). Now that they've developed their voice, what do they try to focus on? Knowing their audience (19-28 year old men), entertaining their audience (football game "smack talk" and #noyoudidnt hashtags), and seizing on cultural moments (a la "The Sound of Music"). The campaign seems to be pretty successful, and the company has seen strong evidence of increased purchase intent, with consumers posting photos to Instagram and Twitter of DiGiorno's in their shopping carts.

And last, but by no means least, it looks like disillusioned New Yorkers are banding together to combat the proliferation of Lower East Side dollar slice joints. With a pizza petition. Less crappy pizza's always a good idea in our book, but the petition also aims to ban new pizza joints from opening in the area altogether. Organizing blog EV Grieve clarifies, stating that theirs "is not an anti $1 slice pizza petition. We're sick of ALL pizzerias. No more $1 slice pizzerias. No more expensive brick oven pizzerias. NO MORE PIZZERIAS!" For the moment, the petition only has 27 supporters, and the actual goal—to give "low to mid-priced food options more real estate room to breathe"—is one we wholeheartedly support. Then again...we love us some pizza.

About the author:Kate Andersen is a Contributing Editor for Slice.