Pizza Hut UK Drops Social First ‘Vertical Pizza Box’

Created by Iris, the campaign invites audiences to spot it, share it and debate how it could possibly work

By Creative Salon

09 February 2026

With over 400 restaurants serving customers Nationwide, Pizza Hut UK is turning heads on the streets of London with the ‘Vertical Pizza Box’ – a playful, social-first campaign created by Iris, designed to spark curiosity and fuel speculation around a seemingly impossible invention: the world’s first vertical pizza box.

The campaign taps into Pizza Hut’s long history of iconic ‘firsts’ – from inventing the Stuffed Crust to sending a pizza into space – and asks one simple question: if Pizza Hut has done it all… why hasn’t anyone cracked a vertical pizza box?

To bring the idea to life, Pizza Hut is placing the Vertical Pizza Box prototype directly into the real world, with people spotted carrying it across London in a way that stops passers-by in their tracks and prompts the internet’s most important reaction: “Wait… what?”

Built around speculation rather than explanation, the campaign deliberately avoids giving the game away upfront – allowing audiences to lead the conversation as they debate how it works, where it’s come from, and whether it could possibly be real.

The rollout is designed to build momentum over time, starting with publisher pages to kick-start conversation, followed by influencer-led content to amplify speculation and drive shares, before Pizza Hut steps in on its owned social channels to respond to the buzz and bring the story to a close. Early sightings will be seeded through Archbishop of Banterbury and TikTok food news creator Food with ASB.

Roy Torres, Global Brand Creative Director, Pizza Hut, said: “Pizza Hut has always had a history of doing things differently, and in the UK, we wanted to create something that felt genuinely surprising in culture. The ‘Vertical Pizza Box’ is a fun, playful way to spark conversation and get people talking, while celebrating the innovation and imagination that sits at the heart of the brand. Working with Iris, we’ve created a campaign that’s made for social, made to travel, and made to get everyone asking the same question: how does that even work?”

Menno Kluin, Global Chief Creative Officer, Iris Worldwide, said: “The ‘Vertical Pizza Box’ is exactly the kind of idea we love making with Pizza Hut, simple, unexpected and designed for people to participate in. Instead of explaining the concept upfront, we put it out into the world and let the internet do what it does best: spot it, share it and debate it. It’s a social-first stunt built to feel real, spark genuine curiosity, and turn a prototype into a talking point.”

Vertical Box social rollout

The ‘Vertical Pizza Box’ campaign will run exclusively on social, with content designed to feel authentic and ’in the wild’, driving intrigue and shareability as the idea spreads.

Later in the campaign, Pizza Hut will close the loop by addressing the speculation, confirming the ‘Vertical Pizza Box’ is a prototype concept and keeping the conversation open for future possibilities.