When it comes to pizza, Connecticut is a drive-to state, not a drive-through state, according to Anthony M. Anthony, chief marketing officer for the state of Connecticut. Anthony is the mastermind behind Better Pizza in CT, a campaign designed to promote pride among Connecticut residents and drive tourism to the state’s independent pizzerias. This year, the state’s Office of Tourism is taking several approaches to promote Connecticut’s bustling pizza industry, including pizza-inspired art installations, a fashion show, a new pizza trail and, notably, an ad campaign launched in other regions with well-known pizza styles, such as Chicago, Detroit, New Jersey and New York.
While the messaging behind some of the billboards launched in other areas might appear combative – one billboard for Chicago reads, “Yes, Pizza. Not Casserole,” for example – Anthony stresses the campaign is meant to initiate a “friendly food fight” that ultimately is positive for the entire industry. “It elevates the national conversation. It gets people talking about what they love,” he tells Pizza Today.
People are certain to be talking Saturday, when fashion designer Justin Haynes debuts a pizza-inspired collection at District NHV to benefit the Feeding Families Foundation, which ensures the families of hospital patients get enough to eat. The event is a collaboration between Haynes and Michael Pollack, an artist whose sculpture celebrating Connecticut pizza debuted this week at the Tweed-New Haven Airport. Pollack also is the artist behind the 9,000-pound, 13.5-foot-tall steel and concrete pizza slice statue currently located outside Modern Apizza in New Haven.
Later this year, the state Office of Tourism will debut an official Connecticut Pizza Trail. Twenty of the first spots on the trail already are chosen, having been selected by public vote. Anthony stresses that state pizza operators who aren’t on the short list shouldn’t worry; the full pizza trail will include 100 pizzerias that are geographically and stylistically diverse.
As for the Better Pizza in Connecticut campaign, Anthony says the website and phone number recently launched to solicit opinions about Connecticut pizza have generated largely positive response. “State pride is at an all-time high,” he says, adding that the University of Connecticut’s basketball championships in 2023 and 2024 might have played a role. “Some of the focus on the things that we do very well has actually helped state pride.”
