Spider-Man Swoops into Times Square to Honor Heroes Nationwide Monday, Oct. 29
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2007--Spider-Man will descend upon the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square today... but no one is in danger! Rather, your friendly neighborhood superhero will make a spectacular entrance into Times Square to honor the first of his nationwide superhero counterparts - New York-area police officers and firefighters.
The heroes will be among the first to sample the new Super-Hero XL3 pizza from Papa John's, a pizza created in celebration of the release of Spider-Man 3 on DVD and Blue-ray High Def, available to own Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Beginning now through Nov. 29, Papa John's customers can purchase the Super-Hero XL3 - a three-topping, extra-large, 16-inch pizza (30 percent bigger than the large size) for just $12.99. And, while supplies last, all Papa John's orders will include a $3-off instantly redeemable coupon for the Spider-Man 3 DVD. This new limited-time-offer pizza arrives just in time for Halloween, one of the three busiest pizza delivery days of the year.
"We're thrilled to partner with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to offer our customers an exclusive deal on the Spider-Man 3 DVD," said Bill Van Epps, Papa John's president, USA. "This opportunity is the latest example of our success in bringing great pizza promotions and highly anticipated DVDs to our customers."
Starting at 2:30 p.m. in Times Square, Spider-Man will be joined by Spider-Man 3 Director Sam Raimi and Papa John's Founder John Schnatter who will kick off the pizza chain's nationwide million-dollar "Hometown Super-Heroes" campaign.
While Spider-Man is a superhero on screen, Papa John's knows that the real super-heroes are those in hometowns across the country. For that reason, more than 2,600 Papa John's restaurants across the country will complete the delivery of Super-Hero XL3 pizzas to local Hometown Super-Heroes - police officers, firefighters and rescue workers.
All totaled, that will add up to 78,000 pizzas (624,000 slices!) to more than 300,000 Hometown Super-Heroes with a retail value of more than $1 million. The first 6,000 Super-Hero pizzas will be delivered to police, fire and rescue in Southern California who have battled the devastating wildfires.
"Our Hometown Super-Heroes may not have super powers like X-Ray vision or the ability to fly, but they humbly keep families safe in our communities every day," said Van Epps. "This is just one small way for Papa John's to say 'thanks' for the selfless actions of these brave men and women across the country."
The first Hometown Superheroes to be honored will be those in New York City, where Spider-Man will be joined by the city's "Little Apple Heroes" to honor area police and fire workers in Times Square.
Sony Pictures DVD release of Spider-Man 3, comes just in time for Halloween, regularly registering as one of the three busiest pizza delivery days of the year for Papa John's. In addition, the Spider-Man costume is expected to be one of the most popular costumes this Halloween. So together, the pizza, the DVD and the costume make for a great combination on the final day of October.
Following the Times Square event, Spider-Man, Sam Raimi, Papa John's and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment executives will participate in the NASDAQ Closing Bell Ceremony at 4 p.m.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For eight years running, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.
CONTACT: Papa John's International, Inc.
Tish Muldoon
Director, Media Relations
502-261-4987
tish_muldoon@papajohns.com
or
Fleishman-Hillard, for Papa John's
Doug Terfehr, 314-550-0934
doug.terfehr@fleishman.com
SOURCE: Papa John's International, Inc.