Pizza Hut Is Bringing Back a Perk Unseen Since the 1990s

Pizza Hut is bringing back the mini basketballs it launched in the 1990s for March Madness.

Pizza Hut is, for many Americans, a fast-food chain that is deeply rooted in nostalgia. Some still associate it with the long-gone red roofs and chandeliers while, depending on how old one is, many will remember everything from dessert pizza or cheese-stuffed crust to the original PizzaNet website.  

Also at the start of the 1990s, the Yum! Brands  (YUM ) - Get Free Report-owned brand started giving those who bought pizza a small toy basketball to celebrate the NCAA playoff season -- two from the 1990 championship game in Denver recently sold on eBay  (EBAY) - Get Free Report for $28.95.

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Many frequent Pizza Hut visitors during that time period remember hoping to get a mini basketball with their pizza and saving ones from different years to reflect who won the college playoffs.

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As the 2023 NCAA playoffs get underway, Pizza Hut decided to bring back the mini basketballs. While not gifted with an order, they will be available to purchase for $7 on the Pizza Hut website, app and at participating restaurants.

"We're back again for the seventh year as the official pizza of March Madness and we wanted to do something special for pizza loving basketball fans," Lindsay Morgan, Pizza Hut's chief marketing officer, said in a statement. "That's why we're bringing back a fan-favorite item, our Mini Basketballs, to pair perfectly with pizza orders during the tournament and unveiling interactive hoop pizza box packaging for customers to get into the basketball action at home."

Each one is designed in the chain's signature red and black colors and has "No One Out Pizzas The Hut" written on it alongside Pizza Hut's and NCAA's logos.

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To tap further into that sense of nostalgia, Pizza Hut is also bringing another promotion that was launched in 1999 but disappeared off the menus by the mid-aughts: the Big New Yorker Pizza. Measuring 16 inches crust to crust, the extra-large pizza was originally presented as "bigger, cheesier" and the "biggest deal."

Former President Donald Trump even once appeared in a television ad for the pizza in which he talks about "New Yorkers" and their "big mouths."

"The Big New Yorker [...] features six oversized, foldable slices with crispy crust and bold flavors including sweet marinara sauce and Parmesan oregano seasoning on top to mimic an authentic New York style pizzeria build," Pizza Hut said in announcing its March Madness promotions.

Each of those pizzas will also come with a cardboard holder that can be used for the mini basketball. 

In continuation of the March Madness theme, Pizza Hut is also hosting a one-day March 18 event at Caesars Palace Forum Shops in Las Vegas -- those in the area who stop by will be able to get a free mini basketball, play a round of hoops and other raffles and games and take pictures with various Pizza Hut merchandise.

Since the start of the year, Yum! Brands shares have stayed stable even as competitors struggled with a decrease in visits amid a looming recession and generally turbulent economic environment. At $126.38, shares are down 0.46% since the start of 2023 but up 9.67% from a year ago.