Pizza Hut is looking to court Gen Z through an LTO that invites burger brand employees directly to try out its newest product.

The “Cheat on Your Cheeseburger” campaign sees the pizza QSR offer employees at big burger chains a free Cheeseburger Melt pizza on June 4, if they walk into any Pizza Hut location in Canada in uniform.

The creative promoting the upcoming LTO features burger workers furtively munching down on the new offering.

The fast food infidelity continues, as from June 5 to 11, burger lovers across the country can show up to any participating Pizza Hut location with a coupon from any restaurant that sells burgers, and exchange it for an order of free regular fries and a free beverage of their choice with the purchase of a Cheeseburger Melt.

Jennifer Ligotti, Pizza Hut Canada’s newly minted CMO, tells strategy that with younger consumers developing broader flavour profiles, the brand wanted to develop a product to go head-to-head with the likes of such chains as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, A&W and Harvey’s.

This work ladders back to Pizza Hut Canada’s handcrafted crust, which launched in December of last year. The brand then invited Canadians to bring an empty box from a competitor to get a new pie, an overture to converted pizza lovers.

“We felt like we needed to call all loyal burger fans to try this product,” Ligotti says, adding that some of the brand’s most loyal consumers are people who actually work at burger establishments.

Pizza Hut’s Cheeseburger Melt is a limited time offer for 10 weeks, but Ligotti says the brand is leaving its options open about whether it could become an everyday menu item.

The campaign promoting the LTO is a full 360, focusing more on digital, while including influencer, organic, OOH and social PR. It is also supported by digital trucks in key markets targeting competitor locations.

“What you’ll see from us is continued introduction of innovated new products, several times throughout the year,” Ligotti says, and that late night is white space opportunity for the brand, including the Cheeseburger Melt.

Ad spend is “heavier” than typical efforts, thanks to more non-traditional opportunities with influencers and creating a buzz.

Leo Burnett Canada is handling creative for the campaign, after winning the account last spring. Diamond is overseeing organic social, with Edelman handling PR and Wavemaker taking care of the media buy.