Nick Martell

They tell parents not to bribe kids with food, but who hasn't accepted a pack of Skittles in return for putting on that college shirt for Easter?

Who amongst us has not done so?

Besties, Pizza Hut, they've been known for doing this since 1984.

Pizza Hut launched the famous Book It program nationwide that year.

Back then, the son of Pizza Hut's president, he actually struggled to read books at the time.

So the head of this pizza chain launched a literacy program for kids just like his own.

Book It, the plan was simple.

Encourage kids to set reading challenges and then, you know, reward them with carbs.

James and the Giant Peach turns into James earning a giant pizza.

But now this concept has been digitized in the Book It app for the digital age.

This literacy program, which again, Pizza Hut created, now has 14 million students at 37,000 participating schools.

What we're saying, besties, is for 42 years, Pizza Hut pioneered one of the most successful stealth marketing programs in history.

A pizza chain convinced schools and parents that the right reward for reading a book was a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza.

Oh, and what a profit, Puppy Jack.

Families come in to redeem that free pie for the kid, but they celebrate with a $100 tab for the rest of them.

So Book It this year launched June 1st.

It lasts through August 31st.

Fun summer initiative.

but you can't build a pizza business just on that.

Good point, Jack, because Pizza Hut sales were down 3% last quarter, and they've fallen for ninth great quarters no matter how much R.L.