Papa John’s has advertised itself as the “official pizza of the National Football League,” but now reports say the chain is thinking of canceling its ads during this year’s Super Bowl.
After months of controversy over its NFL connections, the fast-food chain has not confirmed its participation in the upcoming event, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
“We currently do not have a Super Bowl spot booked or produced, but are exploring our options in and around the game,” Papa John’s chief marketing officer Brandon Rhoten said. “I didn’t buy my Super Bowl spot last year until the Monday before the game, so you never know.”
Further complicating the pizza chain’s decision, is the controversy over comments by founder and now former CEO John Schnatter who said in October that the pizza chain had lost millions due to the NFL’s anthem protests. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]The NFL had a disastrous weekend when it came to ratings. Numbers have been down all season and it was more of the same for the wild-card games. The biggest surprise was that the best game (Panthers-Falcons) had the biggest decrease year over year. Yes, markets were a big factor, but that was a competitive and entertaining game. Here’s the breakdown:
Titans-Chiefs (14.7) was down 11 percent versus last year’s Raiders-Texans game.
Falcons-Rams (14.9) was down 10 percent versus last year’s Lions-Seahawks game.
Bills-Jaguars (17.2) was down 10 percent versus last year’s Dolphins-Steelers game.
Panthers-Saints (20.4) was down 21 percent versus last year’s Giants-Packers game. (READ MORE)
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