Brad Pitt, foreground, eats pizza as Angelina Jolie, looks on in the audience during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 2, 2014, in Los Angeles.John Shearer/The Associated Press
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12 Years a Slave, Gravity and Dallas Buyers Club cleaned up at the Oscars. But the night's real winner wasn't a film at all – it was Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria.
The L.A.-based pizza chain, with 20 locations, got the opportunity of a lifetime when Ellen DeGeneres, host of this year's Academy Awards, ordered pizzas during the telecast.
A 30-second spot on the telecast can run up to $1.8-million, according to Variety. And with Ellen spending a couple of minutes passing out three pizzas, and another collecting cash, TMZ estimates that Mama's & Papa's scored $10.8-million in free publicity.
The social media-savvy chain, who sent a 'real delivery man'in a red cap and maroon hoodie, capitalized on the exposure, posting photos to their Instagram account. They also re-tweeted a breakdown of which celebrities ate the what. (Brad took a slice of pepperoni while Angelina passed).
Whether the cheese and veggie pies were any good is beside the point – although Slate suggests they were mediocre based on Yelp ratings, with one hyperbolic reviewer calling it "literally the worst pizza ever."
As TMZ points out, considering the pizzeria spent zilch in production, and ended up collected $75 for three pizzas in Pharell's hat, they essentially scored "the best ad deal in the history of television."
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Katherine Scarrow