Hasta La Creative!

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. You can get an audio version of this briefing on your Alexa device. Search for “Ad Age” under “Skills” in the Alexa app. What people are talking about today: For years, Papa John (aka founder John Schnatter) was the face on Papa John’s ads and pizza boxes. Now that Schnatter is persona non grata, the company is using lots of other faces in an ad — the faces of its employees, as Ad Age’s Jessica Wohl writes. The company’s new spot isn’t about a boss named John, it’s about Nadya, Amit, Jordan, Nicholas, Alaura, Zafira, Bill and Dougie. Wohl notes that “the video features 24 people, including franchise owners and managers of Papa John’s restaurants around the world, including people of color.” That’s notable because Schnatter exited as chairman after using a racial slur on a conference call. The ad, from Endeavor Global Marketing, was directed by Ramaa Mosley. As Wohl writes, she’s the first woman to direct a commercial for the brand.

Also: Grammar enthusiasts, brace yourselves. Because “Papa John’s may soon go by the name Papa Johns,” minus the apostrophe, Wohl writes. Filings were submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in late August. The underlying message is that Papa John’s, the pizza chain, doesn’t belong to Papa John, the guy. Although, as Wohl notes, founder Schnatter is still the largest shareholder.

F&B + KBS = F&B

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