Editing Pizza Hut (section)

==Advertising==

===United States===
Pizza Hut's first television commercial was produced in 1965 by Bob Walterscheidt for the Harry Crow agency in Wichita, and was entitled "Putt-Putt to the Pizza Hut". The ad looks just like an old movie and is set in fast motion. It features a man in a business suit and tie, played by Ron Williams, who was then a production manager for Wichita's ABC affiliate [[KAKE-TV]], as he orders take-out, leaves his house, and gets into his 1965 Mustang JR to drive to Pizza Hut, where he is chased by a variety of townspeople, portrayed by neighborhood kids, Walterscheidt and his daughter, and various employees for Harry Crow and KAKE-TV. He goes inside Pizza Hut to pick up his pizza and drives home. People eat all the pizza before the man who ordered it can get any, which makes the man very upset, so he calls Pizza Hut again. The ad first aired on November 19, 1966, during halftime of the [[1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game|Notre Dame vs. Michigan State "Game of the Century"]], and dramatically increased sales for the franchise. "Putt-Putt to the Pizza Hut" ran on TV for eight years and was nominated for a [[Clio Award]].<ref>{{cite AV media |date= February 24, 2008|title= Putt-Putt to the Pizza Hut|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPpc4rY8iMI| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/pPpc4rY8iMI| archive-date=October 30, 2021|access-date= December 2, 2015|format= [[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://jrcentral.com/forum/general/index.cgi?noframes;read=775 |title=Background on the Pizza Hut Commercial |publisher=JR Central |date=February 28, 2008 |access-date=December 2, 2015 |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208172146/http://jrcentral.com/forum/general/index.cgi?noframes;read=775 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Until early 2007, Pizza Hut's main [[advertising slogan]] was "Gather 'round the good stuff".<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.brandeating.com/2014/06/feature-a-look-at-recent-fast-food-slogan-changes.html|title=Feature: A Look at Recent Fast Food Slogan Changes|access-date=May 14, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803154723/https://www.brandeating.com/2014/06/feature-a-look-at-recent-fast-food-slogan-changes.html|url-status=live}}</ref> From 2008 to 2009, the advertising slogan was "Now You're Eating!"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-15-greatest-fast-food-slogans-of-all-time-burger-king-mcdonald-s-and-more|title=The 15 greatest fast-food slogans of all time|first=Kevin|last=Alexander|website=Thrillist|date=May 26, 2014 |access-date=May 14, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806083757/https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-15-greatest-fast-food-slogans-of-all-time-burger-king-mcdonald-s-and-more|url-status=live}}</ref> From 2009 to 2012, the advertising slogan was "Your Favorites. Your Pizza Hut"<ref name="auto"/> From 2012 to 2016, the advertising slogan was "Make it great", a variation of the 1987–1995 slogan "Makin' it great!".<ref name="auto"/> From 1995 to 1999, the slogan was "You'll love the stuff we're made of".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UUac9QpZPQIC&q=%22Pizza+Hut%22+%22You%27ll+love+the+stuff+we%27re+made+of%22&pg=PA19|title=The Great American Blow-Up: Puffery in Advertising and Selling|first=Ivan L.|last=Preston|date=August 1, 1996|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299152536|via=Google Books}}</ref> The advertising slogan is currently "No one outpizzas the hut".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.awesomeinventions.com/pizza-hut-changing-to-old-logo/|title=Pizza Hut Is Going Back To Its Roots And Bringing The Old Logo Back|date=June 29, 2019|access-date=May 14, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806061827/https://www.awesomeinventions.com/pizza-hut-changing-to-old-logo/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Pizza Hut does not have an official international mascot, but at one time, a series of commercials in the US aired, titled "[[The Pizza Head Show]]". These commercials ran from 1991 to 1999 and was created by Walter Williams, creator of the [[Mr. Bill]] sketches from ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in the late 1970s – upon which the ad campaign was based. The ads featured a slice of pizza with a face made out of toppings called "Pizza Head". In the 1970s, Pizza Hut used the signature red roof with a jolly man named "Pizza Hut Pete". Pete was on the bags, cups, balloons, and hand puppets for the kids. In Australia during the mid to late 1990s, the advertising mascot was a delivery boy named Dougie, with boyish good looks, who upon delivering pizza to his father, would hear the catchphrase "Here's a tip: Be good to your mother". Adding to the impact of these advertisements, the role of Dougie was played by famous Australian soap opera and police drama actor [[Diarmid Heidenreich]].{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

Pizza Hut sponsored the film ''[[Back to the Future Part II]]'' (1989) and offered a free pair of futuristic sunglasses, known as "Solar Shades", with the purchase of Pizza Hut pizza. Pizza Hut also engaged in [[product placement]] within the film, having a futuristic version of their logo with their trademarked red hut printed on the side of a [[mylar]] dehydrated pizza wrapper in the McFly family dinner scene, and appear on a storefront in [[Hill Valley (Back to the Future)|Hill Valley]] in the year 2015.<ref>{{cite AV media |date= February 11, 2008|title= Pizza Hut commercial with Back to the Future theme|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_EFGMyfYoc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/s_EFGMyfYoc| archive-date=October 30, 2021|access-date= December 16, 2011|format= [[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The 1990 [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] game ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game]]'' came with a coupon for a free pizza. The game included Pizza Hut [[product placement]] in the form of background advertisements and pizza that would refill the character's life.

In 1995, [[Donald Trump]] and his ex-wife [[Ivana Trump]] appeared in a commercial. The last scene of the commercial showed Ivana asking for the last slice, to which Donald replied, "Actually, you're only entitled to half", a play on the couple's recent divorce.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://jezebel.com/watch-young-donald-trump-eat-pizza-and-joke-about-divor-1723502119|title=Watch Young Donald Trump Eat Pizza And Joke About Divorce|last=Rothkopf|first=Joanna|work=Jezebel|access-date=March 17, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=April 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421060704/http://jezebel.com/watch-young-donald-trump-eat-pizza-and-joke-about-divor-1723502119|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1995, [[Ringo Starr]] appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial that teased to a [[Beatles]] reunion, but featured three members of [[The Monkees]]. A commercial with [[Rush Limbaugh]] dates from the same year, in which he boasts "nobody is more right than me," yet he states for the first time he will do something wrong, which was to participate in Pizza Hut's then "eating pizza crust first" campaign regarding their stuffed crust pizzas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/1/post/2017/04/1995-pizza-hut-commercial-with-ringo-starr.html|title=1995 Pizza Hut commercial with Ringo Starr|website=The Monkees Live Almanac}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://retronewser.com/2015/06/29/ringo-starr-appears-in-pizza-hut-commercial-with-three-monkees-20-years-ago-today-june-29-1995/|title = Ringo Starr appears in Pizza Hut commercial with three Monkees 20 years ago today (June 29 1995)|date = June 29, 2015|access-date = August 19, 2020|archive-date = May 31, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220531163525/https://retronewser.com/2015/06/29/ringo-starr-appears-in-pizza-hut-commercial-with-three-monkees-20-years-ago-today-june-29-1995/|url-status = live}}</ref>

In 1999, the announcer says, "The best pizzas under one roof" in the Big New Yorker pizza commercial seen on the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] Pizza Hut Demo Disc 1. Also, in 1999, the game ''[[Crazy Taxi (video game)|Crazy Taxi]]'' for Sega Dreamcast featured Pizza Hut as one of the locations to which players were able to drive and drop off customers. However, in the game's 2010 re-release for [[Xbox Live]] and [[PlayStation Network]], all of the product placement, including the Pizza Hut locations, were removed and replaced with generic locations.<ref name="siliconera">{{cite news | url=http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/21/no-pizza-hut-tower-records-or-kfc-in-crazy-taxi/ | title=No Pizza Hut, Tower Records Or KFC In Crazy Taxi | work=siliconera | date=June 21, 2010 | access-date=April 29, 2010 | archive-date=June 25, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625170318/http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/21/no-pizza-hut-tower-records-or-kfc-in-crazy-taxi/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Early 2007 had Pizza Hut move into several more interactive ways of marketing to the consumer. Using mobile-phone SMS technology and their MyHut ordering site, they aired several television commercials (commencing just before the [[Super Bowl]]) containing hidden words that viewers could type into their phones to receive coupons. Other innovative efforts included their "MySpace Ted" campaign, which took advantage of the popularity of social networking, and the burgeoning user-submission marketing movement via their Vice President of Pizza contest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.retaildive.com/ex/mobilecommercedaily/pizza-hut-scores-super-bowl-sales-touchdown-with-mobile-orders|title=Pizza Hut scores Super Bowl sales touchdown with mobile orders|work=Retail Dive|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928055432/https://www.retaildive.com/ex/mobilecommercedaily/pizza-hut-scores-super-bowl-sales-touchdown-with-mobile-orders|url-status=live}}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
[[File:Pizza Hut at Portwood - geograph.org.uk - 1988760.jpg|thumb|Pizza Hut location in [[Stockport|Stockport, England]]]]
In 1996, as part of Pizza Hut's global advertising strategy using celebrities, [[Formula One]] driver [[Damon Hill]] and BBC motorsport commentator [[Murray Walker]] advertised the stuffed crust pizza, which parodies Walker's extravagant style.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/news-damon-hill-makes-ad-debut-pizza-hut-film/15929|title=NEWS: Damon Hill makes ad debut in Pizza Hut film|website=campaignlive.co.uk|access-date=December 1, 2019|archive-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329225644/https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/news-damon-hill-makes-ad-debut-pizza-hut-film/15929|url-status=live}}</ref>

Talk show host [[Jonathan Ross]] co-starred in an ad with American model [[Caprice Bourret]]. They advertised the new stuffed crust pizza, with Jonathan Ross saying "stuffed cwust" due to his [[Rhotacism (speech impediment)|rhotacism]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Aiming to be a model singer|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/419518.stm|access-date=January 5, 2017|publisher=BBC|date=August 17, 1999|archive-date=January 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106105836/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/419518.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following England's defeat to [[Germany national football team|Germany]] on penalties in the semifinals of [[UEFA Euro 1996|Euro '96]], [[Gareth Southgate]], [[Stuart Pearce]], and [[Chris Waddle]] featured in an advertisement, which shows Southgate wearing a paper bag over his head in shame as his penalty miss allowed England to lose the shootout. Waddle and Pearce, who both missed in a shootout vs West Germany at [[1990 FIFA World Cup|World Cup '90]], are ridiculing him, emphasizing the word "miss" at every opportunity. After Southgate finishes his pizza, he takes off his paper bag, heads for the door, and bangs his head against the wall. Pearce responds with, "this time he's hit the post".<ref>{{cite web|title=Gareth Southgate Pizza Hut advert: Watch the England manager's classic Euro '96 paper bag penalty apology|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/gareth-southgate-pizza-hut-advert-watch-the-england-managers-classic-euro-96-paper-bag-penalty-a3408961.html|website=standard.co.uk|date=November 30, 2016|access-date=January 5, 2017|archive-date=January 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106105240/http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/gareth-southgate-pizza-hut-advert-watch-the-england-managers-classic-euro-96-paper-bag-penalty-a3408961.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Russia===
[[File:Pizza Hut sign in Moscow, Russia, just before the store opened, 1990.jpg|thumb|Pizza Hut advertisement in [[Moscow]], Russia in January 1990, just before the restaurant opened]]
Former Soviet Union leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] starred in a [[Mikhail Gorbachev Pizza Hut commercial|1998 Pizza Hut commercial]] with his granddaughter Anastasia Virganskaya to raise money for the Perestroyka Archives.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/9712/23/gorby.pizza/ |date=December 23, 1997 |newspaper=CNN |title=Gorbachev's pitch for pizza released |access-date=August 14, 2019 |archive-date=July 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722161634/http://http/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ad "obviously exploited the shock value of having a former world leader appear... [and] played on the fact that Gorbachev was far more popular outside Russia than inside it". It was filmed on a multi-million budget with a cinematic quality, including mounting cameras on the [[Kremlin]] and shutting down [[Red Square]] to get the establishing shots of the square, and dialogue entirely in Russian with English subtitles, to show Pizza Hut as a global brand compared to its American rivals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/28/mikhail-gorbachev-pizza-hut-ad-thanksgiving-miracle/|title=Mikhail Gorbachev's Pizza Hut Thanksgiving Miracle|first=Paul|last=Musgrave|access-date=December 1, 2019|archive-date=December 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201001221/https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/28/mikhail-gorbachev-pizza-hut-ad-thanksgiving-miracle/|url-status=live}}</ref>

More recently, Pizza Hut has had various celebrity spokespeople, including [[Jessica Simpson]], [[the Muppets]], [[Damon Hill]], and [[Murray Walker]].

In 2000, Pizza Hut paid for their logo to appear on a Russian [[Proton (rocket family)|Proton rocket]], which launched the Russian [[Zvezda (ISS module)|Zvezda]] module.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/06/13/alpha.products/ |title=Pitching products in the final frontier |work=CNN |date=June 13, 2001 |access-date=May 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105095945/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/06/13/alpha.products/ |archive-date=January 5, 2010 }}</ref>

===Pasta Hut===
[[File:84 Charing Cross Road, London.jpg|thumb|A branch of Pizza Hut rebranded as "Pasta Hut" on Charing Cross Road, London, in 2009]]
On April 1, 2008, Pizza Hut in America sent [[email]]s to customers advertising their pasta items. The email (and similar advertising on the company's website) stated: "Pasta so good, we changed our name to Pasta Hut!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huliq.com/55564/pasta-hut-new-name-pizza-hut|title=Pasta Hut Is The New Name For Pizza Hut|date=April 2008|publisher=Huliq.com|access-date=October 11, 2015|archive-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016060341/http://www.huliq.com/55564/pasta-hut-new-name-pizza-hut|url-status=live}}</ref> The name change was a publicity stunt held on [[April Fools' Day]], extending through the month of April, with the company's Dallas headquarters changing its exterior logo to Pasta Hut.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-pasta-hut-080401,0,600012.story|title=Pizza Hut renaming itself Pasta Hut for April Fool's.|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=April 2, 2008|archive-date=April 4, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404034345/http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-pasta-hut-080401,0,600012.story|url-status=live}}</ref>

This name change was also used to promote the new Tuscani Pasta line and the new Pizza Hut dine-in menu. The first Pasta Hut advertisement shows the original Pizza Hut restaurant being imploded and recreated with a "Pasta Hut" sign.

A version of this stunt was re-created by Pizza Hut's UK operation later that year in October 2008, which included ten locations in London temporarily taking on new "Pasta Hut" signage. Pizza Hut UK's chief executive at the time has insisted that this was solely intended as a "PR exercise" and the chain never planned on permanently changing its name in the UK or elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/pizza-hut-rebrand-pasta-hut/|title=Did Pizza Hut Once Try to Rebrand as Pasta Hut?|first=Ralph|last=Jones|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|date=July 10, 2021|access-date=October 12, 2021|archive-date=October 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007082359/https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkbjmm/pizza-hut-rebrand-pasta-hut|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Sponsorships===
[[File:Pizza Hut themed Little Free Library in Gillette, Wyoming.jpg|upright|thumb|right|A Pizza Hut-themed Little Free Library in front of a Pizza Hut in [[Gillette, Wyoming]]]]
*In the early 1990s, as part of PepsiCo's sponsorship of ''[[The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer]]'' (and its former moniker, ''The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour''), Pizza Hut was included in the acknowledgment alongside [[Taco Bell]] and [[KFC]], which PepsiCo owned at the time.
*In 2000, Pizza Hut was a part-time sponsor of [[Galaxy Motorsports]]' #75 [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] in the then [[NASCAR Cup Series]], driven by [[Wally Dallenbach Jr.]]
*Pizza Hut was the shirt sponsor of English [[football (soccer)|football]] club [[Fulham F.C.]] for the [[FA Premier League 2001-02|2001–02 season]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Fulham FC signs £2m Pizza Hut sponsorship|url=https://www.marketingweek.com/2001/07/05/fulham-fc-signs-2m-pizza-hut-sponsorship/|access-date=January 6, 2017|publisher=marketingweek.com|date=July 5, 2001|archive-date=January 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106173254/https://www.marketingweek.com/2001/07/05/fulham-fc-signs-2m-pizza-hut-sponsorship/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Terry Labonte]] drove selected events with Pizza Hut as the primary sponsor of his #44 car for [[Hendrick Motorsports]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pizza Hut to sponsor cars in 5 NASCAR races|url=https://www.pizzamarketplace.com/news/pizza-hut-to-sponsor-cars-in-5-nascar-races/|access-date=January 6, 2017|publisher=pizzamarketplace.com|date=April 21, 2005|archive-date=January 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106103309/https://www.pizzamarketplace.com/news/pizza-hut-to-sponsor-cars-in-5-nascar-races/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Brian Vickers]] also drove a Pizza Hut car in the NASCAR [[Busch series|Busch Series]] for Hendrick.
*Pizza Hut purchased the [[naming rights]] to [[Major League Soccer]] club [[FC Dallas]]' stadium, [[Toyota Stadium (Texas)|Pizza Hut Park]], prior to its opening in 2005, which were allowed to expire in January 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pizza Hut Pulls Its Slice Out of Pizza Hut Park|url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/pizza-hut-pulls-its-slice-out-of-pizza-hut-park-7140239|newspaper=[[Dallas Observer]]|date=December 21, 2011|access-date=January 6, 2017|archive-date=July 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713172516/http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/pizza-hut-pulls-its-slice-out-of-pizza-hut-park-7140239|url-status=live}}</ref>
*In October 2015, Pizza Hut signed sponsorship deals with the [[Dallas Mavericks]], [[Dallas Stars]], and [[American Airlines Center]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/pizza_hut_serves_up_dallas_sports_partnership |title=Pizza Hut serves up Dallas sports partnership – Sports Sponsorship news – BasketballIce Hockey North America |publisher=SportsPro Media |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=October 11, 2015 |archive-date=October 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005171935/http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/pizza_hut_serves_up_dallas_sports_partnership |url-status=live }}</ref>
*In February 2018, Pizza Hut signed a sponsorship deal to be the official pizza sponsor for the [[National Football League]].<ref>{{cite press release|title=PIZZA HUT®, NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE® SCORE FOR FANS AND PIZZA LOVERS BY ANNOUNCING NEW OFFICIAL PIZZA SPONSORSHIP OF THE NFL|url=http://blog.pizzahut.com/pizza-hut-national-football-league-score-for-fans-and-pizza-lovers-by-announcing-new-official-pizza-sponsorship-of-the-nfl/|website=PizzaHut.com|date=February 28, 2018|access-date=March 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=PIZZA HUT, NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE SCORE FOR FANS AND PIZZA LOVERS BY ANNOUNCING NEW OFFICIAL PIZZA SPONSORSHIP OF THE NFL|url=https://nflcommunications.com/Pages/PIZZA-HUT,-NATIONAL-FOOTBALL-LEAGUE-SCORE-FOR-FANS-AND-PIZZA-LOVERS-BY-ANNOUNCING-NEW-OFFICIAL-PIZZA-SPONSORSHIP-OF-THE-NFL.aspx|website=NFLCommunications.com|date=February 28, 2018|access-date=March 1, 2018}}</ref>
*Pizza Hut sponsored the #14 [[Brad Jones Racing]] [[Holden ZB Commodore]] driven by [[Todd Hazelwood]] for both of the [[Darwin Triple Crown]] and [[Townsville 500]] in [[2021 Supercars Championship|2021]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/pizza-hut-and-bjr-join-forces-on-hazelwood-entry/ |title=Pizza Hut confirms two round sponsorship deal with BJR |date=June 11, 2021 |website=Supercars Championship |last=Pavey |first=James |access-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302051622/https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/pizza-hut-and-bjr-join-forces-on-hazelwood-entry/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*In March 2022, Pizza Hut signed a sponsorship deal to be the official Quick Service Restaurant for the [[Supercars Championship]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.speedcafe.com/2022/03/02/supercars-announces-pizza-hut-partnership/ |title=Pizza confirms deal with the Supercars Championship |date=March 2, 2022 |website=Speedcafe.com |access-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302051615/https://www.speedcafe.com/2022/03/02/supercars-announces-pizza-hut-partnership/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Book It!===
Pizza Hut has sponsored the Book It! reading-incentive program since it started in January 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-15-vw-2399-story.html |title=Achieving Pizza Mind Through Books |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 15, 1985 |access-date=June 27, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628181611/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-15-vw-2399-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pizzahut.com/newsroom.html?page=Newsroom&story=2013~188~1 |title=Pizza Hut Newsroom: Pizza Hut® Book It!® Literacy Program Launches Website To 'Spark Your Greatness' Through Summer Reading |publisher=Pizzahut.com |date=June 26, 2013 |access-date=February 10, 2014 |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222170500/http://www.pizzahut.com/newsroom.html?page=Newsroom&story=2013~188~1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Students who read books according to the goal set by the classroom teacher, in any month from October through March, are rewarded with a Pizza Hut certificate good for a free, one-topping Personal [[Pan pizza|Pan Pizza]]; and the classroom whose students read the most books is rewarded with a pizza party. Book It! was conceived in 1984 during a dinner with Art Gunther, President of Pizza Hut, and Bud Gates, SVP of Marketing at Pizza Hut, as a way to help Gunther's son read more.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nickgray.net/bookit/ |title=I Met The Founder of Book It! And Here's How It Started |publisher=nickgray.net |date=March 28, 2019 |access-date=June 27, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629201018/https://nickgray.net/bookit/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The program has been criticized by some psychologists on the grounds it may lead to [[overjustification effect|overjustification]] and reduce children's intrinsic interest in reading.<ref name="Flora, S. R. 1999">Flora, S. R., & Flora, D. B. (1999). Effects of extrinsic reinforcement for reading during childhood on reported reading habits of college students. ''Psychological Record'', ''49'', 3–14.</ref> Book It! was also criticized by the [[Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood]] in 2007 who described it as "one of corporate America's most insidious school-based brand promotions." A pamphlet produced by the group argued the program promoted junk food to a captive market, made teachers into promoters for Pizza Hut, and undermined parents by making visits to the chain an integral part of bringing up their children to be literate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/28883/pizza-reading-pizza-huts-book-it|title=Pizza for Reading: Pizza Hut's "Book It!"|work=Mental Floss|date=June 26, 2015|access-date=October 7, 2014|archive-date=December 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230233952/http://mentalfloss.com/article/28883/pizza-reading-pizza-huts-book-it|url-status=live}}</ref> However, a study of the program found participation in the program neither increased nor decreased reading motivation.<ref name="Flora, S. R. 1999"/> The program's 25th anniversary was in 2010. The Book It! program in Australia ceased in 2002.