Papa Johns Surveillance-Based Advertising

Papa Johns is spying on people’s buying activities to predict when they are low on food:

The pizza chain recently tapped NBCUniversal, Instacart and the dentsu-owned media agency Carat for help reaching consumers when they’re low on groceries—and thus more likely to be swayed by a mouth-watering ad. The idea is to reach hungry consumers by “knowing what is in their fridge without being too creepy,” said Carrie Drinkwater, chief investment officer at Carat.

To achieve that goal, NBCU and Instacart created a custom audience of shoppers who regularly purchase grocery staples on Instacart, such as eggs, milk, meat and produce. Based on that data, Papa Johns can determine which days of the week certain consumers are likely to run out of groceries and serve them an ad on NBCU streaming content accordingly. The brand served custom creatives to consumers based on their food preferences—such as whether they buy meat regularly—with QR codes and calls to action such as, “Light on groceries?” or “Empty fridge?”

Back in 2012, we learned (from Target and its campaign that detects when someone is pregnant) that the trick is to hide the knowledge in other, wrong, information. So the way for Papa Johns to not be “too creepy” is to deliberately get it wrong sometimes.

But still, ugh.

Tags: advertising, privacy, surveillance

Posted on July 1, 2026 at 6:53 AM • 13 Comments

Comments

Clive Robinson • July 1, 2026 8:16 AM

@ Bruce,

With regards,

“But still, ugh.”

Consider the neo-con way,

“Where there is a will to make money there will always be a way to creep people out”…

Such is the nature of Capitalism, and share holder value…

wiredog • July 1, 2026 9:12 AM

A variant of what Cory Doctorow calls “algorithmic cruelty”.
https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/06/digital-phrenology/#weaponized-nostalgia

Rontea • July 1, 2026 9:22 AM

In a world where even the emptiness of your refrigerator becomes a pretext for surveillance, the absurdity is complete. Papa Johns peers into your void, not to offer solace, but to monetize your hunger. The fridge, once a private cathedral of decay and disappointment, now signals the market when your despair has ripened.

We have reached a point where the faint growl of a stomach is data, where the absence of milk is a summons to the algorithm. They do not wait for you to feel desire; they conjure it, weaponize it, and then serve it back to you with garlic sauce. The empty fridge is no longer your own—it belongs to the ad.

To be hungry is to be known. To be known is to be hunted. And still, we will scan the QR code, because our revolt extends only as far as our apathy will allow.

Vles • July 1, 2026 11:06 AM

I remember reading something about a woman suing DoubleClick 10 or 20 years ago and learning that they had 900 pages of profiling information data on her.
Maybe our government should own this PII? data, feed it to psychiaters and psychologists to help you if ever you run into trouble. (Addiction or whatever mental illness befalls you.) /silly

Every fiber in my body tells me this tracking, gathering data and building profiles is wrong, but I don’t have a coherent view of what’s going on to point out why. I stopped reading up about these things when I learned about persistent cookies years ago.

Here’s a question:

What phone and computer and internet technologies should I use that guarantees me 10 years of internet usage, without any spying or tracking or surveillance. (…from all but the most tech savvy national security agencies?)

oh o bother, I’ll just search for the answer…

Exhausted • July 1, 2026 12:24 PM

Vles:
“What phone and computer and internet technologies should I use that guarantees me 10 years of internet usage, without any spying or tracking or surveillance. (…from all but the most tech savvy national security agencies?)”

Avoiding modern surveillance without becoming Amish is a full time job nowadays.
Linux on your computer, Graphene OS on an android phone, a privacy focused browser, a privacy focused email service, self-hosting everything you possibly can to avoid cloud services/storage, installing the fewest apps and or programs you can. Those are some basics that will get you off to a good start. I suggest watching Naomi Brockwell on youtube as she offers good insight into how bad it’s become while still keeping things easy to digest.

lurker • July 1, 2026 2:10 PM

@Rontea, ALL

“… our revolt extends only as far as our apathy will allow.”

Revolt and apathy are most likely to be learned attributes in modern society. Thus the problem and the solution belongs with society. When the education system is captured by surveillance based advertisers children will expect this behaviour as normal. I wonder what an autodidact would have to say to Papa John …

KC • July 1, 2026 5:02 PM

“Light on groceries?” or “Empty fridge?”

What about an ad further tailored to the sardonic?

“We know you are low on groceries. Instacart sold your data. Also, you like TV. Bet you are hungry and not stepping out anytime soon. Order Papa Johns, [checks notes] the Meat Lover.”

Agammamon • July 1, 2026 9:26 PM

“knowing what is in their fridge without being too creepy,” said Carrie Drinkwater, chief investment officer at Carat.

These people are not human. They have no internal monologue. They are p-zombies.

Nepenthes • July 2, 2026 9:37 AM

“Quote: Exhausted
Avoiding modern surveillance without becoming Amish is a full time job nowadays.
Linux on your computer, Graphene OS on an android phone, a privacy focused browser, a privacy focused email service, self-hosting everything you possibly can to avoid cloud services/storage, installing the fewest apps and or programs you can. Those are some basics that will get you off to a good start. I suggest watching Naomi Brockwell on youtube as she offers good insight into how bad it’s become while still keeping things easy to digest.”

—

Unfortunately, Naomi only scratches the surface, but she explains topics in a way that’s easy for the general public to understand.

Even those so called privacy apps often come along with Google attached services, A/B Tests, Ads or other stuff which is unnecessary and undermines the users data sovereignty often by default. The additional general problem that the government (insert x here) is increasingly requiring its own citizens to use smartphones and install certain apps to load data into “clouds”.

Linux is no alternative for many people, because it’s still complicated in many ways. Not to forget the compatibility topic and many tutorials are only available in English (language barrier) and/or they forget to explain the basics, are outdated etc.

Actually, people need to take action against their governments and against the tech billionaires as well. ASAP. Instead of posting content via Internet.

Unfortunately, that’s hardly/no longer possible through democratic means.

Clive Robinson • July 2, 2026 9:38 AM

@ Vles, Exhausted, ALL,

With regards your question of,

“What phone and computer and internet technologies should I use that guarantees me 10 years of internet usage, without any spying or tracking or surveillance.”

The short answer is,

“Disconnect your life entirely from everything electronic…”

If you want 10 years, for two basic reasons,

1, Many Governments are – using “age verification” to force you to have an online ID, Client Side scanning on all your devices “to see what you see” on your device. Oh and BLE beaconing in all smart / mobile devices to track your movements.

2, Even if you think something is not electronic, it probably is in some way these days (think retail RFID chips in your cloths etc). Your Payment cards, insurance / health cards and nearly all ID documents / cards. Your Car recording everything that happens “inside” the passenger cab for “insurance purposes” and so on.

I would not be surprised if even Amish horse drawn buggies had long range BLE / RFID attached to them surreptitiously by local, regional or State governments… Hidden in compulsory add on items the Amish could not easily make “to spec” like “safety reflectors”.

Then there is the “Friends, Family and loved ones” issue. Where they plaster photos including you etc on Social media and directly or indirectly tag you.

Alongside of Temu there are the likes of Amazon and Co “Ring” and equivalent.

So you probably can not step outside your door without being on somebodies “Security System” that is paying for it’s self via selling your Personal and Private life off to somewhere.

But even in your house, all new white goods in your kitchen, entertainment equipment such as TVs, Radios, games machines are “Internet Connected”. As well as vacuum cleaners and similar. Oh and don’t forget Personal grooming such as health/sports gear, medical devices, tooth brushes, steam irons, and even toys for both children and adults gave all been found to have “Over The Air”(OTA) interfaces to the Internet.

Modern microcontrollers as “System on a Chip”(SoC) devices are down into the sub dollar range with WiFi / Bluetooth etc “on chip” these days, thus just about any physical object with utility will either have one or an RFID built in giving connectivity.

Oh and anything that “has an app” for Apple, Google, or Microsoft OSs these days will be vomiting every possible detail they can for somebody to profit off of you…

A longer answer would be that “Every thing runs on the Internet” much of which is still IPV4 but that is changing fairly quickly to IPV6, recent news, from Rob Braxman is

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2k8Hr5Aw73o

Which indicates that IPV6 is in effect,

“Surveillance built in and not removable.”

I’ve known since IPV6 was first formalised back last century that it was likely to be a security issue as it makes being anonymous at best difficult…

Whilst IPv6 is not the direct equivalent of a Government issued Personal ID number, it is the equivalent of an “Electronic Serial number” that provides make / Model info as well. And all to often is tied to you via your electronic payment card you “use online” or at the Store EPoS till and sold off multiple times. I don’t know how long it will be before you have to use a payment or ID card to access a public restroom / toilet but It won’t be that far away in time.

Any App or other piece of modern commercial software is “spyware” in one way or another and it’s just going to get worse.

Oh and the other issue is “you won’t own it”… They will.

Some people have just “lost purchases” from Sony as they turn online libraries and the like off. Amazon did this back ages ago with Kindle but in general the entire industry is moving from “purchase” to “lease” then rapidly to “rent” where you pay via “Death from a dozen cuts” every year.

I’ve stopped playing these games but year by year the boundary that defines my freedom is shrinking.

Any way @Exhausted has mentioned,

“Naomi Brockwell on youtube”

To save you searching,

‘https://m.youtube.com/@NaomiBrockwellTV

Likewise there is “Addie LaMarr” who I’ve also mentioned in the past,

‘https://m.youtube.com/@addielamarr

But beware she talks quickly so you might want to slow it down or listen a couple of times.

And a more recent one “Cyb3rMaddy” who’s latest video starts talking about Temu and the Chinese Communist Party, before moving onto what the US is upto,

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RuqQR_R-dEQ

There are several more, but I’ve generally found the above to be the least abrasive to the more casual ear.

lurker • July 2, 2026 2:56 PM

@Nepenthes, ALL

“Even those so called privacy apps often come along with Google attached services,”

Yup, even Rob Braxman’s privacy phone comes with the alternative Aurora appstore installed, which along with microG services allows you to install apps from Google’s store, even if you’re so stupid to log in with your Google acct …

Clive Robinson • July 2, 2026 4:17 PM

@ lurker, ALL,

With regards,

“Aurora appstore installed, which along with microG services allows you to install apps from Google’s store”

From what I’ve been reading recently, not for much longer…

As I understand it due to “age restrictions” as an excuse, you will now need a compulsory low level Google API that verifies your phone and you in various ways and will lock you out of loading Google Apps of any kind…

Thus you will be forced to login to Google Playstore etc to even get apps working long after you’ve downloaded them.

Thus Google will be able to track you anywhere at any time in the world…

I’m still looking for more solid proof that this is going to happen.

Thankfully though I don’t do “apps” other than a browser and a calculator and checked them on the WiFi interface using a friends Pi-Hole as a router to check for telemetry etc.

As for “Private Stuff” I don’t do any of that “On-Line” and have no intention of starting, ever…

astrologer tejas • July 3, 2026 1:57 AM

Surveillance-based advertising can help brands deliver more personalized promotions, but it also raises important concerns about customer privacy and data collection practices.
Finding the right balance between targeted marketing and transparency is essential for maintaining positive customer relationships.

Schneier on Security

Papa Johns Surveillance-Based Advertising

Comments

Leave a comment Cancel reply