Hold the Anchovies

TNT tried to score ratings points for its coverage of last month's NBA All-Star weekend with pizza deliveries.

The cable network ordered pizza boxes carrying full-color action shots of NBA All-Stars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Steve Nash. TNT distributed 360,000 boxes through Mangia Media to 162 pizzerias in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Dallas just before Super Bowl weekend.

“Looking at the target audience, they are pizza-eaters,” says Jenny Storms, TNT senior vice president of marketing.

TNT figures sports enthusiasts may treat the boxes as a collectible. “We think it's a commemorative item,” she says.

A Times Square billboard mirrored the pizza box image, which was also reproduced in TV spots and print ads.