One large, hold the spam: Free pizza if you friend Papa John on Facebook
Filed under: Fantastic Freebies
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Abbondanza! Papa John's is so eager to get new friends on Facebook that it's sending a code for a free medium pizza to anyone who becomes a fan of its group page. Between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday, Papa John's group went from around 10,000 users to nearly 124,000. That's gonna cost it a lot of dough. The deal, which will be sent out via the group's updates starting Wednesday and requires the purchase of another pizza, ends December 1.
The Pizza Wars are really heating up. Most of the big pie spinners now allow you to order on their sites, through widgets, or via text messaging. I find it more pleasurable to order Domino's by its website than to actually eat the stuff. Watching that little status bar teasingly track your pie's progress in the minutes before your doorbell rings is a lot saucier than the food.
But now the biggies are spreading their pepperoni though major social networking sites and more unconventional means. Last month, Pizza Hut began allowing customers to order using Facebook and immediately transgressed by notifying all the friends in their groups that they had done it. Apparently that was a spam too far, because the company apologized and relented. The Hut moved on to bribing online customers with free music downloads. Domino's just enabled ordering by TiVo.
All of us on Facebook and MySpace have been tracked by from people we'd rather not hear from again. But people get socially greedy. Long-lost contacts notice that their Friend count could use a goose, and suddenly everything's bygones. Papa John's takes it a step farther, though. It's so eager to boost its friends list that it's going out of pocket to elevate the number. Like Paris Hilton, it's paying for friends. I never thought of that. I wish I'd held out on those jerky former high school jocks for a little gratuity before accepting.
What's going to stop everyone from de-friending Papa John's after we've gotten what we want from it? Man, it's like high school all over again, but with mushrooms and extra cheese this time.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-18-2008 @ 12:25PM
Michael...Your nephew said...
There are conditions of the free medium pizza...it comes with any online purchase. So you have to buy a pizza to get a free one...
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11-18-2008 @ 2:23PM
Pat said...
It says that right in the article...............
11-18-2008 @ 2:47PM
Rob said...
Pappa John's pizza makes the worst pizza of all the pizza chains.
Their service is awful and if you have a problem with their product they do not respond. When they return my $28.62 for the bad pizza's they sold to me, we will start even but until then I refuse to popularize this company!
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11-18-2008 @ 3:02PM
NukeDave said...
If it's like the pizza deal they ran here in Columbus a couple months ago it will fail. They undersupplied the stores here and they all closed early, then basically said "Sorry. we got the free publicity for the deal but can't carry out what we promised to do". I still haven't been back since then.
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11-18-2008 @ 3:26PM
alexa said...
papa johns definately needs to pay people to eat its food. if you order a topping you need a microscope to find it. We once tried to order years ago and they told us one mile to far to deliver. They are sooo history
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11-18-2008 @ 3:46PM
christine said...
papa johns here is absolutely delicious and beats pizza hut anyday, it is more pricey though and papa johns wants to put sausage sausage sausage on everything but I love their pizza much more than the others
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11-18-2008 @ 8:08PM
Jesus F'n Christ said...
Wrong honey, it su cks, you don't know from frick'n pizza. Me? I know.
11-18-2008 @ 3:48PM
Les said...
I actually like Papa John's has an option of a whole wheat crust, which other pizza chains do not. You can actually order a healthy pizza off their site if you do whole wheat and no cheese and lots of non-fried veggie options. I know...no fun, but an option if you want to do pizza with less calories.
It just shows you can eat healthy at fast food retaurants if you want to.
I am a personal trainer and I have always considered fast food a great crutch if you are smart about it. A great source to look up all sorts of info on foods is Nutrition Data and it is free http://www.nutritiondata.com My two favorite foods to recommend for weight loss and maintaining muscle
are broccoli and flax. There is a great flax called fitflax which is roasted, tastes delicious and I have my clients just sprinkle it on salad great right out of the bag. It is fitflax http://www.fitflax.com
This has helped speed up weight loss with my female clients.
My favorite fast food item to recommend is the grilled chicken Caeser at Burger King. Use half the packet of dressing, throw out the crotons and they have the option of double chicken.
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11-18-2008 @ 8:12PM
WTF said...
You are stupid.
11-18-2008 @ 3:53PM
james said...
you get what you pay for,if you dont tell them how you want your pizza its your fault,they cant read your mind,so speak up,
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11-18-2008 @ 4:03PM
KATHLEEN said...
PAPA JOHNS HAVE ALWAYS GOTTEN MY ORDER RIGHT, THEY EVEN ASK IF I WOULD LIKE EXTRA SAUCE, ECT. MOST OF THE TIME YOU HAVE A VERY HARD TIME GETTING OTHERS TO ANSWER THE PHONE.
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11-18-2008 @ 4:10PM
Cindy said...
You have to watch when you are ordering online vs over the phone. We order a lot from our local Cottage Inn. One day I needed to look at their menu for something different, so I went online... I found that my store did participate in the online ordering... so I placed my order, complete with directions... paid with my debit card. I always do this and then add the tip when they deliver... one problem... doing it this way, i couldn't add the tip after it was delivered. I had to determine the tip BEFORE. well, my tip is based on service. luckily I had some cash to give the driver... At the same time, she informed me that the prices are MUCH HIGHER on the website. I thought there was a difference, but I thought it was just a price increase. and not just a few cents either... we're talking $2-3 more for the lazana dinner and I don't remember how much more for the pizza's... So I increased my expense by probably $6-10, plus the inconvenience of the tip issue... So be careful with the 'new ways'....
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11-18-2008 @ 5:31PM
andrea said...
That's ok...here in Buffalo...we don't need a Papa John's...we have the best pizza and wings anywhere...don't need to go to chains.
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11-18-2008 @ 8:15PM
Rocko said...
Like ur pasta, do ya? Betcha look like a buffalo too.
11-22-2008 @ 12:03AM
Marta S. said...
Don't forget the beek on 'weck and Fish fries{they also grill}, too! Lots of cool {good} non-chain food in Buffalo and the 'burbs, too! :D
11-18-2008 @ 5:49PM
Wardog said...
I tried it, and would not suggest it to my friends, I tossed it and went to Blind Onion.
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11-18-2008 @ 6:53PM
Brian said...
The Best pizza is Mountain Mikes Pizza, Papa Joke, get with the program, Mountain Mikes has Buy one get one free all the time, and 50% off every Tuesday, What a great deal for pizza with lots of fresh toppings and hearty crust and tons of real California Cheese! Plus the delivery is fast and the online ordering has yet to let me down.
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11-18-2008 @ 8:18PM
Jimmy said...
"Mountain Mikes?" Do you people wear shoes where you live?
11-18-2008 @ 7:07PM
al said...
ABC PIZZA IN GRANBY CONNECTICUT IS THE BEST!!
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11-19-2008 @ 2:44PM
Brett said...
Papa Johns has the WORST Pizza!!!
In Des Moines Iowa "THE TAVERN" and "SCORNAVOCAS" has the BEST!!!
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