AdMiration feature: Totino’s Pizza Rolls’ “Chazmo Goes Home” campaign

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Totino’s Pizza Rolls’ tales of Chazmo, which began in “Chazmo Name” ad and continued in “Chazmo Finally Goes Home” ad, which aired during this year’s Super Bowl LIX. 

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

Totino’s Pizza Rolls’ “Chazmo Name”

The ad opens to an alien named standing in front of its spaceship in a dimly lit wood, waving to a group of people standing nearby, including comedians Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson, when Tim asks Chazmo to pay them pack for the “probably 70” pizza rolls he ate, to which the alien responds, “...Totino’s Pizza Rolls are 10 for about a dollar” as well as how his name isn’t even Chazmo, which shocks the entire group.  

Sam responds, “Next time you come back, ‘buddy,’ have a name!” before the ad closes with a shot of freshly made Totino’s Pizza Rolls and a box with the words: Totino’s Pizza Rolls. 10 rolls for about a dollar” as an alien hand reaches for them from off-screen.   

Totino’s Pizza Rolls’ “Chazmo Finally Goes Home”

A continuation of the “Chazmo Name” ad, this spot premiered as Totino’s Super Bowl spot this year, which shows the alien Chazmo finally setting out to go home with his box of Totino’s Pizza Rolls. 

As the kids, dads (comedians Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson) and Chazmo say their goodbyes, the spaceship’s elevator doors abruptly slam shut, squishing him to death. The kids scream and cry in horror, but the dads, who claim not to have known him as well, snack on some Totino’s and share blasé remarks about his passing.

3 facts

• Both ads scored in the top 20% of US ads for potential to drive short term sales, with “Chazmo Name” also scoring in the top 20% of ads for the potential to build the brand in the longer term (Name: Sales impact 81, Brand impact 83 & Finally Goes Home: Sales impact 85, Brand impact 56) . 

• Both spots left viewers rolling with laughter, with “Name” landing a 22% laughter score and “Finally Goes Home” a 25% laughter score, compared to a norm of 8%.

• “Chazmo Name” effectively landed the value-based message of the brand, with significantly more than the norm agreeing that Totino’s Pizza Rolls are a great value (4.4 vs. a norm of 4.2) and that Totino’s Pizza Rolls are enjoyed by everyone (4.4 vs. a norm of 4.2). 

2 learnings

• Sometimes using humor can appeal more strongly to one demographic than another. In this case, these hilarious spots from Totino’s resonated much higher among men than women, with “Name” scoring a 90 in Sales Impact among men and 64 among women and “Finally Goes Home” scoring a 95 in Sales Impact among men and 60 among women. 

• Character consistency is a great method to help viewers recognize who your ad is for as soon as the character appears on screen. In this case, Chazmo the alien was seen in “Name” and again as a continuation in “Finally Goes Home,” which was released on a much larger scale during the Super Bowl. For that second installment, 20% of people shared that the alien helped them tell what brand the ad was for and it received a higher branding score (77% vs. 60% for “Name”).

1 reflection

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Great storytelling is key to a successful ad. This is especially true when the story is intertwined with consumers' expectations from the brand.  The shift in tone, while a bit polarizing, from sweet to dark is certainly on brand for Totino’s —  going from children bidding farewell to their alien friend to one of the dad’s asking the alien for money and in the second, being squished to death right in front of their eyes — bringing it back on track to what viewers can typically bank on from the brand.

Totino’s Pizza Rolls' campaign “Chazmo Goes Home” was created by Dentsu Creative, writer Zach Kanina and director Alice Mathias and features comedians Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson. 

While very humorous (and surprising!), the messaging the brand is trying to convey in the ad leaves viewers feeling good about more than just the comedy, but the affordability of their pizza rolls as well. 

Taylor Roseberry, Totino’s brand experience manager, shares, "The spots were created by this talented group of comedic geniuses who have worked together for years. We wanted the on-screen chemistry to come through and capture the fun and excitement of the Totino’s brand. We can’t wait for fans to see Tim and Sam bring their signature blend of absurdity, physical comedy, and sharp wit to the world of Totino’s Pizza Rolls."

Roseberry continues, “Totino’s Pizza Rolls have long been a go-to for after school snacks and now, we’re bringing these top comedians together to show fans that this snack is an epic and affordable way to eat pizza.” 

This campaign, initially kicking off last Fall and continuing into this year’s lineup of Super Bowl LIX ads, provides Totino’s with an opportunity to broaden its appeal to a wider set of consumers craving pizza. “Chazmo Goes Home” builds on a successful campaign Totino’s ran during the 2024 NFL playoffs, which featured Pete Davidson and positioned Totino’s as a more reliable option than fast food delivery. 

Totino’s initial installment, “Chazmo Name” resonated very well with viewers, with a sales impact score of 81 and brand impact score of 83 — landing it in the top 20% of US ads for potential to drive short term sales and build the brand in the longer term. 

This spot scored even higher among males in particular, who scored the ad as having a sales impact score of 90 and brand impact score of 91.

“Chazmo Finally goes Home” scored similarly in overall sales impact (85), with a slightly lower brand impact (56). And just like the first installment, this spot performed even better among a male audience, resulting in a sales impact score of 95 and brand impact score of 75.

Both ads were seen as highly distinctive among all viewers, with an ad distinctiveness of 4.1 (compared to a norm of 3.8). On top of that, the ads were seen as relevant and left audiences feeling that Totino’s meets their needs — particularly for “Chazmo Name,” which received a relevance score of 3.7 (compared to a norm of 3.6) and Brands Meets Needs 4.2 (compared to a norm of 4.0).

The comedic celebrity appeal added to the distinctiveness and virality of the ads, with a celebrity appeal score of 3.8 and 3.9 (compared to a norm of 3.4) and viral potential 64 (compared to a norm of 57).

The celebrities, comedians Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson (and Chazmo, of course), also added to the distinctiveness and storytelling aspect of the ad series as they remained consistent characters throughout. If viewers had seen the first spot, “Name,” they already had an idea of who the ad was for and what was possibly in store for them (likely a lot of laughs). 

And they certainly did get a lot of laughs from both ads! 

“Name” scored far above the norm for laughter with a 22% laughter score (compared to norm of 8%) and love (31% vs. 28% norm). The viewer’s laughter particularly spikes when the dads ask Chazmo to pay them back for all the Totino’s Pizza Rolls he ate, the whole time after while they’re continuing to talk about price and how his name isn’t actually Chazmo. There’s also a huge spike of love reactions at the end, when the pizza rolls are shown — a fantastic reaction for the brand. 

“Finally Goes Home” also had high scores that went far above the norm for laughter with a 25% laughter score (compared to a norm of 8%) as well as surprise (9% compared to a norm of 3%). The laughter was high throughout the entire ad, which was also sprinkled with love as the kids were saying goodbye to Chazmo and once again when the product was shown. There was also a burst of surprise at the end which captured viewers attention when their dear alien is suddenly squished by the spaceship door.

This sudden “death” of Chazmo caused the second installment to be more polarizing than the first, which was more friendly and funny in nature. While keeping with the same characters was great from a branding perspective, the edgier “Chazmo Finally Goes Home” certainly resulted in a mixed reaction from viewers (and not necessarily positively with 8% disliking it versus norm of 3%); however, for an ad that premiered during this year's Super Bowl a polarizing spot like this was a move to make the brand stand out.   

Here’s what some people had to say about both ads:

“Chazmo Name” 

• I liked the alien creature who was funny and liked the pizza rolls. He was my favorite part. The pizza rolls are so good that everyone loves them.

• I like the fact that even the alien knows the great taste and affordability of Totinos pizza.

• It's different from previous Totinos ads. It really expresses the affordability of the snack. I liked the alien, he was cute.

• The ad was funny and i laughed about the allen and the people wanting it to pay them back for eating all their food

“Chazmo Finally Goes Home”

• I like the alien in the ad when he got stuck in the elevator and then the girl screamed that really got my attention.

• I recognized the comedian actor and the alien was cute before being crushed. I love Totino's. I've been eating them since I was a child.

• The nonchalant attitude of the two older men after the door crushes the alien’s head.

These ads served up great storytelling, celebrities and deadpan humor, all of which made for a successful spot from Totino’s. What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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