There is a war raging online. Communities that once lived in peace are now
battling to see whose pizza reigns supreme, and who will be burned to an
inedible crisp. Welcome back to What's Trending, I'm Shira Lazar. Be sure to LIKE
this video and SUBSCRIBE for more weird social media stories. In social media, the
biggest names in pizza are in a battle for the hearts and minds of a nation. This is
really important, okay guys? I'm gonna keep this intense voice going throughout
this entire story. But how did this tragic war start?
On November 1st, John Schnatter, CEO of Papa Johns, blamed the company's falling
sales figures on the protests at NFL games. You see, Papa Johns are the
official pizza of the NFL, and the NFL ratings are down. Last year, the NFL saw a
9% loss in viewership, and the ratings continued to drop this season,
but there are many reasons why people aren't tuning into football anymore.
According to Sports Illustrated, it's not just the protests that are turning
people off of football. The competitive same-day fantasy football market has
dwindled, football has oversaturated the TV market, and many people are turned off
by the risk of concussion and brain damage to the players. Just when you
thought sports could save TV... I guess we were wrong. But Papa John's insists that
it's because of the kneeling protests during the national anthem that has
caused the dip in his pizza sales. I mean, that completely seems to be an
extra-large lie topped with pineapples aka bullsh*t. ESPN reporter Bill Barnwell
tweets, "The idea that Papa John's revenues/earnings fell because of
anthem protests is ridiculous. Steady decline long before peak protests
day (September 24th). To blame it on protests is just not taking
responsibility for a bad product perhaps? Just saying... Maybe you should just try
innovating your pizzas? Try making them out of not cardboard? Although, if Papa
Johns wants to sponsor What's Trending, I'm happy to help and eat your pizzas.
Many have speculated that the owner of the Dallas Cowboys had Schnatter try to
shame the NFL into stopping the protests by claiming his business was hurt.
Schnatter criticized the NFL saying, "Leadership starts at the top, and this is
an example of poor leadership." Deadspin points out that Jerry Jones and
John Schnatter have been friends for over a decade, and that Jones owns over
100 Papa John's franchise locations. Jones is the owner of the Dallas Cowboys,
so you see how that could come together pretty nicely. But if poor football
ratings means poor pizza sales, that means every pizza brand is in a pinch,
right? Wrong. In an investor's call the day after Schnatter's statement, the CEO of
Pizza Hut's parent company YUM Brands said they've seen no dip in sales due to
protests, and have benefited from advertising and sponsoring live sports.
And some folks on Twitter took this personally. Some people have decided that
Pizza Hut's reporting no dip in sales means they are taking a political stand,
or that just buying a pizza is somehow a political act.
Wow. Just wow. And guys, it's not! It's just pizza!
However, Forbes reports that Papa John Schnatter's net worth fell by 70 million
dollars overnight, due to poor sales, falling stock prices, and Schnatter's big
mouth. And that's when the Pizza Wars became next-level!
Marcella Arguello tweets, "Papa Johns would rather blame poor sales on NFL
players kneeling then accept the fact that Little Caesars Hot N Ready is for
the people." "If you pick Papa Johns over Pizza Hut and Domino's, then you really need
to re-evaluate your life." "Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesars, Pizza Patron,
Chuck E. Cheese pizza, DiGiorno pizza, Tostinos pizza, etc. is better than Papa
Johns." Wow. You guys are experts. That's when DiGiorno took this
opportunity to start a roast on social media. Might as well... it works for
marketing, right? The frozen pizza brand took a swipe at Papa Johns on Twitter
writing, "Us:, Them:," and following up with the slam on Papa Johns tagline, "Better
Pizza. Better Sales." Once the news broke that Papa John's stocks have fallen
because of the controversy, DiGiorno sliced them again! And Papa John's tried
to swipe back by changing their Twitter bio to say, "Frozen pizza = that
pizza equivalent of a participation trophy." Ooh harsh. I'm kind of liking this. This is
kind of making me like your pizza even more. Like, Papa John's if you keep this
up, maybe people will actually start eating your pizza? DiGiorno was unfazed,
tweeting a trophy emoji and saying, "Isn't it nice?" Turns out DiGiorno's social media
manager is just as salty as a DiGiorno pizza. This is gonna be on ad week like
everywhere. This is gonna go down in advertising pizza history. DiGiorno's
Twitter bio now reads, "It's Not Delivery. Its Kind Of Petty." And now that the pizza
wars have gone from a substitute for politics to pure pizza enjoyment,
the Internet is all for it. DiGiorno bragged about their at mentions being
fire. DiGiorno also tweeted, "Everyone: What's all the shade for? Us: You must be
new here. Welcome." I must say, personally, I don't favor either, but I am getting
hungry. And I kind of rather support the mom and pops out there, right? They
deserve some love too! So where do you stand on the pizza wars? Let us know in
the COMMENTS below, LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for more of What's Trending.