The OTTO T-Shirt Design Contest has officially wrapped up, and we are thrilled to announce the winners! From February 19 to March 31, 83 talented artistssubmitted their designs, and 10,918 voteswere cast to choose the winning artwork. It was an exciting contest full of wonderful designs from OTTO fans as far-flung as Texas, North Carolina, and Germany! We couldn’t be more excited to showcase the creativity and passion our customers have for all things OTTO!
Without further ado, here are our winners:
First Place: Sophia S (Gorham, ME)
Sophia’s nautical take on the OTTO logo took home the top spot with 850 votes, earning her a $500 cash prize, a $100 OTTO Gift Card, a $50 voucher for OTTO merchandise, and, of course, a free T-shirt featuring her winning design! Congratulations, Sophia, for your amazing work and creativity!
Sophia’s design will soon be appearing on t-shirts worn by OTTO staff and available for purchase in the OTTO Shop! Stay tuned — we’ll be sure to announce its availability as soon as it’s available!
Second Place: Teagan N (South Portland, ME)
Teagan’s playful reimagining of the OTTO logo as a pizza captured second place with 456 votes, earning a $75 OTTO Gift Card and a $25 voucher for OTTO merchandise. Nice work, Teagan!
Third Place: Grigorii K (Arlington, VA)
Grigorii’s Maine-centric design rounded out the top three with 416 votes, earning a $50 OTTO Gift Card and a $25 voucher for OTTO merchandise. Well done, Grigorii!
A huge thank you to all 83 entrants who shared their creativity and took the time to participate. Your designs were truly inspiring, and we are so grateful for your contribution to this fun and creative challenge.
This holiday season, earn yourself some free pizza when you purchase a gift card!
Buy a $25 gift card, get $5 in bonus credit* (in-store only)! Buy a $50 gift card, get $10 in bonus credit*! Buy a $100 gift card, get $25 in bonus credit*!
*Bonus credit is valid between 1/1/25 and 2/28/25.
How it Works: Physical Gift Cards Purchase at any OTTO location or online (shipped via USPS). Bonus credit will be emailed to you within 24 hours.
E-Gift Cards Purchase online and send instantly to anyone’s email. Bonus credit for e-gifts will be emailed within 24 hours.
Why OTTO Gift Cards? They’re perfect for stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, thank-yous for caregivers, mail carriers, or anyone who deserves a little extra joy this holiday season.
Bonus CreditDetails Redeem between 1/1/25 and 2/28/25 at any OTTO location (excluding Logan Int’l Airport) or online at order.ottoportland.com. Simply enter the bonus card number in the gift card field during checkout.
Don’t Miss Out! Give the gift of OTTO and enjoy free pizza for yourself — it’s a win-win! Start shopping today and make someone’s holidays extra special. Offer ends 1/5/25.
On January 30, we began receiving the first entries in our ‘Draw Outside of the Box‘ contest, in which creatives of all ages could compete for the opportunity to have their designs grace thousands of OTTO pizza boxes throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
Over the course of the contest, we received nearly 500 entries, and those entries received over 13,000 public votes during the competition. The 30 designs with the most votes in each of our age categories (K-12 and All Ages) moved on to the judging phase of the contest on March 30 where our esteemed panel of judges selected our winners.
We want to take a moment to thank each of the amazing artists who competed, our judges who took time out of their busy schedules to select the winning designs, and our friends at Artist & Craftsman Supply, who generously donated a $250 gift card for the K-12 winner’s school, and $100 gift cards for each of our first place winners.
All of us (including everyone at OTTO, our panel of judges, and our customers) were completely blown away by the talent on display in each of the designs.
Although there were so many worthy entries, our judges did have the difficult task of selecting three winning designs in each age category.
Drum roll please…
FIRST PLACE: K-12 Benjamin B Age 16 St. John’s Prep School Danvers, MA
Judges admired the level of detail in Benjamin’s deceptively simple design, as well as the use of color to bring the ‘slice’ to life. The intricacy, inventiveness, and sense of humor exhibited in Benjamin’s tiny doodles complement the playful nature of OTTO’s flavor combinations, promising an adventure for taste buds in a slice that’s far from ordinary.
A version of Benjamin’s K-12 winning design will be printed on thousands of ‘small’ pizza boxes and distributed to all OTTO locations throughout New England. Benjamin will also receive a pizza party, a $150 OTTO gift card, a $100 Artist & Craftsman Supply gift card, an OTTO t-shirt, and an OTTO cap. St. John’s Prep School where Benjamin attends, will receive a check for $1000 to support art education and a $250 Artist & Craftsman Supply gift card.
FIRST PLACE: ALL AGES Amanda H Age 37 Brookline, MA
Our judges loved the strong composition of this design, featuring an OTTO logo constructed from dough and sauce, and a supporting cast of OTTO lovable, slice-eating ingredients — including potato, pineapple, bacon, artichoke, and butternut squash, among others.
Amanda’s design reinforces OTTO’s commitment to carefully-sourced, high-quality, wholesome ingredients, including our very own OTTO-made dough — the foundation of every pie — and reminds us that every OTTO experience is its own kind of pizza party.
Amanda’s design will grace thousands of ‘large’ pizza poxes throughout New England. Amanda wins a pizza party, a $150 OTTO gift card, an OTTO t-shirt and hat, and a $100 gift card from Artist & Craftsman.
SECOND PLACE: K-12 Hana G Age 15 Kennebunk High School Kennebunk, ME
The judges admired the compositional simplicity and the seashore palette of Hana’s clean, delicate design, suggesting ripples of waves emanating from the OTTO logo. The victorious slice-stealing gull reminds us — stay vigilant, or someone’s gonna snag that last slice!
Hana wins a $75 OTTO gift card, and OTTO shirt, and an OTTO hat.
SECOND PLACE: ALL AGES Nick T Age 38 Peabody, MA
Nick’s playful pizza-loving monster design captures that feeling when the pizza arrives — all eyes (and some have as many as five!) are on the slice, the drool is flowing, and there’s not a frown in the house.
We loved the strong composition of the design, as well as the inventiveness and level of detail in each of the monsters.
Nick wins a $75 OTTO gift card, an OTTO shirt, and an OTTO hat.
THIRD PLACE: K-12 Wren R Age 11 South Portland Middle School South Portland, ME
A common theme in the contest submissions (both this year, and in years precious) is the persistence and cunning of Maine’s pizza-loving wildlife. Here, Wren has constructed a scene depicting a trio of masked bandits plotting the heist of unattended pizzas from the back of a bicycle. (Another recurring theme — do not leave your OTTO pizza unattended!)
Wren’s use of perspective and shading draws the viewer in to surveil the scene of this very delicious crime.
Wren wins a $30 OTTO gift card, an OTTO shirt, and an OTTO cap.
THIRD PLACE: ALL AGES Jamie R Age 36 Portland, ME
Jamie’s design was praised for its rich textures and food-color palette of lush greens, tomato reds, and golden yellow, in a playful extrapolation of the OTTO logo. It’s all about the slice — here an OTTO Margherita slice with basil.
A well-balanced, crisp, and playful design that convey’s OTTO’s commitment to quality and craft.
Jamie wins a $30 OTTO gift card, an OTTO shirt, and an OTTO cap.
SUBMISSIONS GALLERIES For those who would like to explore the many wonderful designs submitted over the course of the contest, we have collected them into the below online galleries:
Congratulations to all our talented artists and designers! Each of them have done a wonderful job connecting and communicating with our community through art and design. These creations have brought smiles to the faces of thousands from all over the world who followed and voted in the preliminary round of the contest. These designs embodied the joy of food, the communal nature of pizza, the spirit of OTTO, and the unique natural beauty of New England.
We are confident that these artists will continue to make vital artistic contributions to their communities (and the world) for many years to come!
As of 9am on March 30, the public voting phase of the Draw Outside of the Box contest came to a close. On that day, the 30 entries with the most ‘Likes’ in in each category (K-12 and All Ages/Non-Student) became finalists and have moved on to the judging phase of the contest.
Our panel of esteemed creative professionals (and two former contest winners!) have been tasked with determining the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each category. The judges will make their selections by April 16, by way of ranked choice voting, with an announcement on our social media accounts following soon.
The two first place winning designs will then be prepared for printing, will go to press, and will become the face of OTTO’s pizza boxes throughout 12 locations (plus delivery and catering services) in MA, NH. and ME. First, Second, and Third place winners in each category will be awarded the prizes outlined in the contest overview.
Ladies and gentlemen, our 2024 ‘Draw Outside of the Box’ panel of judges:
Scott Nash Scott Nash is the Executive Director of Illustration Institute and a founding partner of BIG BLUE DOT, and NASHBOX. As a designer, Scott has developed an expertise in the branding and creative development of products and programming for the entertainment, consumer product and publishing worlds. In addition to designing identities for Nickelodeon, PBS, ABC, Comedy Central, FX, YTV, Scott’s design clients include American Girl, Disney, Harvard University, Mattel, Milton Bradley, NFPA, The Boston Pops and From the Top.
Scott’s work as a designer and illustrator has been recognized by leading trade organizations and publications such as The Academy for The Arts and Sciences (EMMY award), PROMAX, Broadcast Designers Association, American Institute of Graphic Arts, Society of Illustrators and HOW, Communications Arts, Print and Publishers Weekly Magazines.
He has lectured widely and taught at Boston University, Northeastern University, The Art Institute of Boston, Maine College of Art, and Johns Hopkins University.
Scott has illustrated over fifty children’s books, including Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp! and The Bugliest Bug, Betsy, Who Cried Wolf! and Betsy, Red Hoodie, the series Snow Day! Beach Day! Rainy Day! and Camping Day! as well as the Flat Stanley series by Jeff Brown.
Martin Sorger Martin is a designer, creative strategist, and painter. His career in design has ranged from tech start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, and include 10+ years on the corporate side as creative director for a Hollywood film production company, a multimedia technology developer, and an online gambling group. Over the years, Martin has worked with brands including OTTO, Harvard Medical School, Roche Bros., Reebok, Disney, Finagle a Bagel, HP, MIT, NEC, NFL, WWE, and BCBS. Since 2018, he’s refocused more time and attention on painting.
Deborah Kovacs Deborah Kovacs has recently retired from her position as Executive Vice President at Walden Media, a studio that produces films and television. On behalf of Walden Media, she has been responsible for Walden Pond Press, a middle-grade imprint published in partnership with HarperCollins.
Clif Stoltze As founder and creative director of Boston-based Stoltze Design Group, Clif has nurtured a highly collaborative environment that emphasizes a process based on research, sound strategy and thorough exploration. This inclusive approach yields compelling communications that effectively articulate and reinforce the message or product.
His agency has been honored by AIGA, the Type Directors Club, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Graphis, and the Society of Publication Designers.
Clif has taught at Rhode Island School of Design and Massachusetts College of Art and frequently lectures at schools and design organizations around the country. He has served as AIGA Boston vice president and was honored as the recipient of their 2005 Fellow Award. Reflecting his love of music and album art, Clif’s book 1000 Music Graphics was published by Rockport in May of 2008 and he is also curator of POSTGIG, a traveling exhibit of contemporary music posters.
Ella Trout As an eight grader, Ella Trout was the winner of OTTO’s very first ‘Draw Outside of the Box’ contest in 2013. As a homeschooler at the time, Ella donated the $1,000 prize of art supplies to Spurwink, a non-profit providing behavioral health and education services in Maine. She has spent the past few years teaching preschool, and is currently pursuing a career in special education. Ella has put her design skills to work by starting up her own business, Puppycat Co., where she sells clothing, plushies, and various accessories made from locally sourced, recycled materials.
Mali Jones Mali was the winner of the 2017 Draw Outside of the Box contest as a student of King Middle School in Portland. She is currently enrolled at Bennington College, studying literature and ceramics. We are excited to have Mali come back as a judge for this year’s contest.
We are grateful to our judges for donating their time.
Stay tuned as we will be announcing our winners shortly after April 16, the end of our judging phase. Thanks again to all of our contestants, and best of luck to our 60 finalists!
First and foremost, we want to thank you for being a customer of OTTO. Your loyalty means the world to us.
Over the past year, we encountered some technological hurdles that impacted your online ordering experience. We have felt your pain – and we apologize for any inconveniences you have endured.
To address these issues, we are broadening our relationship with our trusted Point of Sale provider, Toast. Starting Monday, January 22, 2024, our online ordering and Rewards will migrate from third-party vendors to Toast, bringing every single component of your ordering experience (and our store operations) under one roof, minimizing technical hiccups.
We understand that change can be a temporary inconvenience, but we are confident that this consolidation will result in smoother online transactions and in-store experiences for our staff and our customers alike.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding. We look forward to serving you better in 2024.
So what does this change mean for you?
Your OTTO Account If you have an existing OTTO online ordering account, you will need to create a new account when ordering via order.ottoportland.com on or after 1/22/24. Simply click the ‘account’ icon on the upper right and enter your phone number and follow the prompts. If you use the same phone number as your previous account, any earned Rewards points or credit will migrate over (please allow 24 hours for points/credit migration).
Digital Ordering Our online ordering web address will not change. You can continue to place orders through order.ottoportland.com. Note: The OTTO mobile app is no longer being supported. For those who prefer ordering via mobile app, we can recommend the Toast TakeOut app, which can be used to place orders at OTTO.
OTTO Rewards Your existing point status and credit will transfer to your new account if you use the same phone number as your previous account.
A few minor changes to our Rewards program:
We are no longer tracking ‘Lifetime Points.’ We are now only tracking your progress from 1-100 points. At 100 points, a $10 reward is triggered, and your points will reset to 0 to start again.
The Birthday Reward will now be a $5 reward instead of a free slice. This change was made to provide you with more options. Put it towards a pizza, apps, dessert, or buy a slice – it’s up to you!
We are thrilled to announce our third ‘Draw Outside of the Box’ contest, giving creatives of all ages the chance to see their design featured on thousands of OTTO pizza boxes across New England.
New for 2024: designers can now compete in one of two categories: K-12 or All Ages /Non-Students (anyone not in K-12)! In addition, the winner of the K-12 category will also win their school $1000 to support art education!
HOW THE CONTEST WORKS: After creating and submitting your design (click here for art guidelines), OTTO will upload it to one of two photo albums on the OTTO Facebook page (one album for K-12 entries and one album for All Ages/Non-Students). These albums will serve as public galleries of all submissions. The general public votes for their favorite designs with ‘likes.’
View (and vote, with likes!) all current K-12 submissions here.
View (and vote, with likes!) all current All Ages/Non-Student submissions here.
Public Voting Phase (Jan 30 – Mar 30): The thirty designs in each photo album with the most ‘likes’ by 9am Eastern on Mar 30 will move on to the Judging Phase of the competition.
Judging Phase (Mar 30 – Apr 16): Our panel of judges will select, by way of ranked choice vote, the first, second, and third place winners in each category.
PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES:
First Place (K-12 Category)
Winning design printed on small (12”) pizza boxes
A check for $1000 for student’s school to support art education
Pizza party (for up to 30 students) at his/her school
$150 OTTO gift card
OTTO t-shirt
OTTO cap
$100 Artist & Craftsman Supply gift card
First Place (All Ages/Non-Student Category)
Winning design printed on large (16”) pizza boxes
Pizza party (up to $250 in food delivered to you!)
$150 OTTO gift card
OTTO t-shirt
OTTO cap
$100 Artist & Craftsman Supply gift card
Second Place(One winner in each category)
$75 OTTO gift card
OTTO t-shirt
OTTO cap
Third Place (One winner in each category)
$30 OTTO gift card
OTTO t-shirt
OTTO cap
We are grateful for the support of Maine-based Artist & Craftsman Supply for their donation of gift cards as additional prizes for both first prize winners and the K-12 category winner’s school. They are also generously offering 20% off for contest participants purchasing contest supplies from their Portland location (simply mention “OTTO” when checking out in-store).
The ‘Draw Outside of the Box’ Contest is open to all ages in New England.
HOW TO ENTER: Entering is as easy as 1-2-3:
1. Create your design
K-12: Create your design within a 12×12″ area. Design must include the words ‘OTTO’ and ‘Portland, Maine’
Non-Students/All Ages: Create your design within a 16×16″ area. Design must include the words ‘OTTO’ and ‘Portland, Maine’
2. Take a clear digital picture of the design 3. Submit design at ottoportland.com/draw
We will begin accepting entries on January 30, 2024, and will continue to accept them through 9am on March 30, 2024. However, the sooner your design is entered, the more time it has to earn ‘votes’ on Facebook!
For complete submission requirements, rules, and regulations, click here.
We will be donating 15% of every purchase that is designated as supporting NFAC.
How to ensure your purchase is supporting NFAC
Online Orders: Orders must be placed at order.ottoportland.com. After adding your items, you must enter promo code NFAC in the ‘Promos and Rewards’ field and select ADD. Your order is now tagged as supporting NFAC. (You may need to toggle Promos and Rewards to reveal the promo code field.) Continue the checkout process and 15% of your pre-tax subtotal will be donated!
In-Store or Phone Order: When placing your order, let our team members know that you would like your order to support NFAC.
Addresses and phone numbers for the three participating locations can be found here.
Funds raised during the events will provide “pizza hours” for council members, inpatient baskets, educational tools, and help advance the council’s advocacy and patient care initiatives.
Join us on December 5 to benefit the NFAC and to learn more about the work they do to empower and support patients and their families.
Thank you for supporting NFAC and all they do.
Order Dec. 5 from 5-9 right here! (don’t forget the promo code NFAC!)
WHAT IS “BONUS CREDIT?” *Bonus credit is store credit that can be used on a future OTTO purchase. When purchasing a $50 or $100 gift card, Bonus Credit will be dispensed as a card (or e-card when purchasing online) featuring a card number and PIN. Bonus credit may be redeemed between 1/1/24 and 2/29/24 on purchases made in-store at OTTO or via order.ottoportland.com. Bonus credit is not valid when ordering through third party services, i.e. DoorDash.
Bonus credit is dispensed in a few different ways, depending on method of purchase:
In-Store Purchases: Bonus credit will be dispensed at time of purchase in the form of a physical Bonus Card. Bonus credit may be redeemed at OTTO in-store, online, or via phone order. Bonus credit is valid from 1/1/24-2/29/24.
Online Purchases: Physical Gift Card Purchases: Bonus credit will be dispensed to purchaser via email within 24 hours of purchase. E-Gift Purchases: Bonus credit will be dispensed via email at the time of purchase. (Expect two emails — one for the gift card, one for the bonus credit.)
HOW DO I REDEEM MY “BONUS CREDIT?” Digital Orders on order.ottoportland.com: After adding items to your cart, and proceeding to the payment screen, you will see a Payment Info section that can be toggled between ‘Credit Card’ and ‘Gift Card.’ Toggle to ‘Gift Card’ and enter the card number and PIN associated with your Bonus Credit, and the credit will be applied to the order.
In-store or phone orders: Simply let our staff know that you have Bonus Credit to put towards your order and provide them with the card number and PIN associated with your Bonus Credit, and they will apply the credit to your order.
PORTLAND EXPLORER SWEEPSTAKES We’re giving away a box full of Portland, Maine!
We’ve assembled a prize pack of amazing Portland experiences, gift cards, and swag — donated by some of our favorite Portland businesses! One lucky winner will receive enough goodies to stay fed, entertained, and happy in Portland, ME for more than a few days. And 50 more will win free OTTO swag!
RUNNERS UP: 50 runners-up will receive $30 off swag from our new online merch store!
HOW TO ENTER THE SWEEPSTAKES: Purchases of $50 or more on OTTO gift cards will automatically enter the purchaser in the sweepstakes. No purchase is required to enter. To enter without making a purchase, entrants must visit https://mailchi.mp/ottoportland/sweepstakes during the Sweepstakes Period and complete the Online Sweepstakes entry form.
For full details, including rules and restrictions, click here.
HOW WILL I KNOW IF I WON? Winners will be notified by the provided email address on or after 1/5/24.
I HAVE QUESTIONS Contact OTTO Customer Care here. We’ll get you sorted.
Over the last 15 years, we have prided ourselves on creating delicious pizzas that break the rules, with unexpected combinations of high-quality ingredients that are anything but ordinary. We do that by spending countless hours developing recipes and taking an unreasonable amount of time determining how each ingredient is prepared. While most of the initial ideas have come from the thousands of OTTO team members that have made our journey possible, we haven’t always found ways to highlight more of these ideas and personalities. That’s why we’re so excited about the Team ReMix pies.
Each OTTO team will be creating a custom pie using our currently available ingredients and toppings. Whether they’re prepping an item in a slightly different way, substituting or adding toppings to a pie currently on the menu, or going completely rogue with something totally new and unexpected, you’ll finally have the chance to order our teams’ favorite off-menu creations.
We invite you to try what our teams are creating. Better yet, let us know if you like their ideas…maybe one day it’ll become a permanent addition to our menu!
Hard to believe it’s been nearly 14 years since we opened the doors on a tiny little slice shop on Congress Street in Portland, ME. It’s been a wild ride, but none of it could have been possible without you. We truly have the best customers any business could ask for. Thank you for supporting us over the years.
To celebrate, we want to invite you to three events this June (our birthday month). We sure would love to see you.
June 4 – OTTO’s Birthday Bash on the Esplanade (Boston) Join us from 1-4pm at Night Shift Esplanade, located right along the Charles River in Boston, MA. We’ll be descending upon the scenic Night Shift beer garden with FREE PIZZA (50 pizzas, while it lasts!) and some giveaways. Beer, pizza, and the Esplanade — what’s not to love? No admission — open to the public. Rain date June 18. For more information and directions, click here.
June 11 – Resurgam Music and Arts Festival Presented by OTTO (Portland) Come celebrate Portland’s music, arts, and youth at the second annual Resurgam Festival at the Ocean Gateway and surrounding areas. We are thrilled to be the headline sponsor for this year’s event. Stop by one of our booths for slices, games, and giveaways! The festival will feature over 50 performers on 5 stages and will showcase Portland’s creativity and youth. The event will run from 11am-6pm and is FREE and open to the public! For more information, click here.
June 20 — OTTO 14th Birthday Party (All OTTO Locations in ME, NH, and MA) Swing by any of our locations where we’ll be serving $1.40 slices* all day long. We’ll have some giveaways as well, while they last!
*Limit 2 slices per customer.
Thanks again for 14 great years! We couldn’t do it without you.
