Despite the success of brands like Porta and PC Black Label, Dr. Oetker is looking to change prevailing perceptions of frozen pizza by holding a contest for the title of “Official Publicist of Frozen Pizza.”

Dr. Oetker’s hero spot shows “Frozen Pizza HQ,” where an intern learns about frozen pizza’s bad PR and claims “frozen pizza does not get the respect it deserves.”

“We want to reshape how Canadians think about frozen pizza, and we’re looking for a visionary, bold publicist – or just frozen pizza’s biggest fan – with fresh ideas who can help us tell that story,” Laura Jones, marketing manager of Dr. Oetker Canada, tells strategy.

The digitally-led campaign includes a public invitation to “post your ode” to frozen pizza across Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn, and to use #FrozenPizzaPublicist as the caption. The winner, which will be revealed on Dr. Oetker Canada’s social media channels on Dec. 5, will also get free pizza for a year. “It’s a standalone campaign, and we consider it kind of like a master brand, because we are not focusing on one of our specific sub brands, whether that be Ristorante or Giuseppe,” Jones says.

With Nestlé Canada announcing it’s discounting sales of its frozen meals and pizza business, including Delissio in Canada, the competitive freezer space is up for grabs – and Dr. Oetker wants its share, Jones says. The category has been resilient, with unit sales only down 2% over the past 52 weeks and “no volume loss with Delissio exiting the market,” she adds.

Loblaw is investing in its house brands, particularly its new PC Black Label, but Dr. Oetker remains the category’s consistent ad-spender, Jones says.

Dr. Oetker has always run full-funnel campaigns with Ristorante and Giuseppe and that it “is always investing in the category so that it stays top of mind, she says. “We know eating out is very expensive and the quality of frozen pizza has developed such that in some cases, there are many frozen pizza products that are better than take out and delivery.”

In September, Dr. Oetker launched a Ristorante Bolognese variety and a Rip’n Share-style Giuseppe pizza for for family gatherings.

The creative is by ThinkingBox, and the buy was done by OMD Canada.