Pizza Hut 'changes' its name for Super Bowl LIII

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Super Bowl 2019: What to know

Super Bowl LIII will feature the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, here's everything you need to know about the big game.

It’s Pizza Hut’s first year as the official pizza of the Super Bowl, and in honor of the momentous occasion, they’ve changed their name to a pun you may not immediately get — unless you’re a football fan. Pizza Hut is now “Pizza Hut Hut.”

It’s double hut, as in hut, hut, hike! — the words stereotypically grunted by footballers before most plays to signify that their team needs to be ready. Pizza Hut has made the name change on their website and according to USA Today, a location in Atlanta — where the Super Bowl is being played — will temporarily change its signage to reflect the football-centric name.

It’s the biggest day of the year for the NFL and the biggest day of the year for Pizza Hut,” Marianne Radley, Pizza Hut’s chief brand officer, told Nation’s Restaurant News. Unlike IHOP, which temporarily went by IHOB last year, Pizza Hut is not trying to fool anyone into thinking it’s a permanent name change.

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The chain, which took over as the official pizza of the NFL after Papa John’s ended its deal, is expecting to sell more than 2 million pizzas during the Super Bowl on February 3. After all, pizza is one of the most popular Super Bowl party foods.

The brand is hopeful that they will entice customers to order pizza by offering 20 percent off the NFLshop.com to Pizza Hut customers ordering pizza using their rewards program and by using NFL sponsor Hyundai delivery cars featuring NFL branding to make deliveries. Plus, the chain now delivers beer in seven states. No wonder they’re one of America’s favorite pizza chains.

This story was originally published by The Daily Meal.