Pizza Hut changing to Pasta Hut. Real or hoax marketing?

by Patrick Altoft on October 6, 2008

According to multiple reports in the UK newspapers today Pizza Hut is changing its name to Pasta Hut. The Pasta Hut website has a poll which allows users to vote on the name change which is strange given the fact it’s already going ahead.

A number of people are already suggesting it’s a hoax but would the FT.com have fallen for a hoax like this?

Hoax or not Pizza Hut just got pretty much every major newspaper to write an article about the fact they do pasta as well as pizza. Clever stuff.

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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }

Chetan 06 Oct 2008 at 12:13 pm: This is what is called marketing in a fake way!
They know people would stick with Pizza instead of Pasta but at least the stuff would become more popular.
Kieron Donoghue 06 Oct 2008 at 12:31 pm: It’s nothing but a marketing ploy. Look at the official pizzahut.co.uk site, no mention of the name change at all. Remember a couple of years ago when Heinz announced they were going to stop producing Heinz Salad Cream? Then they “changed their minds” due to “popular demand”? It gained loads and loads of press. This is exactly the same marketing tactic, nothing more.
Luke 06 Oct 2008 at 12:54 pm: If they aren’t telling the truth and this is some sort of desperate attempt to get people to notice their ‘healthy’ menu, then they’ll surely get hammered by the press, who won’t take lightly being fed lies/jokes by media relations professionals, and they will also lose the confidence of the public who will see through this as easily as they would see through an Ann Summers negligee!

It’s all a bit stranger than fiction. I read that they pulled this as an April Fools this year in the States.
Fraser Edwards 06 Oct 2008 at 1:04 pm: The longer the poll stays the same the more fake it looks.

pastahut.co.uk was acquired on sedo for £4,500 during september and is registered to Pizza Hut’s marketing agency. All in all it looks like they have got their money’s worth

Clever stuff as you said!
rishil 06 Oct 2008 at 1:34 pm: If its a hoax, its very much Lyndoman style job… lol
Rick 06 Oct 2008 at 2:18 pm: There definitly is a mention on the official pizzahut site Kieron. But I definitly think that it is just a marketing ploy. No way would they throw away “pizza hut” after all this time
Vinay 06 Oct 2008 at 2:35 pm: Viral Marketing / Link Baiting in Play? I wonder!!

Very good marketing strategy by Blue Barracuda, the guys behind Pasta Hut! I’m sure this is not hoax, just a viral content test by Pizza Hut Group?
Joe 06 Oct 2008 at 2:47 pm: It’s not a hoax, it’s a limited time trial and some restaurants – at least that’s what the Metro was reporting this morning.
Keith Collantine 06 Oct 2008 at 3:49 pm: Can we tip the balance? Get everyone to vote for Pasta Hut and force them to change their name?
Jack 06 Oct 2008 at 3:57 pm: Stunt or no, I wonder what the long term results would be if they actually do change? I don’t think they’ll end up being Pasta Hut, ditching that much history and brand name equity just doesn’t make any sense.
Vinay 06 Oct 2008 at 4:33 pm: Metro’s article “Pizza Hut changes name to… Pasta Hut” – http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?Pizza_Hut_changes_name_to…_Pasta_Hut&in_article_id=339461&in_page_id=34 !! Seems legit to me.
Potato Chef 06 Oct 2008 at 5:02 pm: I think it is a genius marketing plan. After all the goal is to get your name noticed and to get people talking about your product.

What is not to like???
vipey 06 Oct 2008 at 5:42 pm: clearly a very clever linkbait/marketing piece

got to give the thumbs up to blue barracuda for this its very clever yet to the general public its looks legit
IndieLab 06 Oct 2008 at 9:28 pm: Marketing for their new pasta dishes.

The commercials have been running for over a month here in the US. They are running commercials that show people in upscale restaurants eating pasta and then they surprise them by saying the pasta was from Pizza Hut…then they use the tagline, Pasta Hut.

Just marketing, pure and simple:)
A* 06 Oct 2008 at 10:08 pm: it is real….i work for pizza hut….they are re-branding in an attempt to show everyone that we are not just about pizza but also have great pastas and salads too, it is for a limited time and only 30 stores accross the uk are actually changing names (exterior signage etc) but every restaurant has a new modified menu with pasta hut on the front and the new improved pastas inside, its exciting times for the company, instead of criticising and deciding whether to beleive, you should get yourself to a restaurant and try the new pastas, they look great and taste it too!
Peter Young 07 Oct 2008 at 9:45 am: Cheers A*.

TO be honest as a PR exercise its done its job – got people talking about it , so you ahve to say job done to the PR Agency/Pizza Hut on this one.
Eloi 07 Oct 2008 at 10:33 am: Of course it’s a marketing stunt designed to increase awareness of the pasta offering… It won’t last long, and pizza hut will be back in no time… “to popular demand” lol.
I do however love Keith’s idea of having everyone vote for pasta hut (obviously a bad name after the effort the brand has put into placing itself at the forefront of the pizza market), that would be hilarious if it won….
A+, are you from the PR or online marketing team ? There’s an interesting debate about whether it’s the PR or the online marketing agency who should run the social media, I was just wondering how it was for you…
Pete 08 Oct 2008 at 4:38 pm: Yes, very clever…Especially the Online Ad. This is a pure example of advertising at it’s original and best form.

For somebody who would never really check out a Pizza Hut advertisement, I had to click on the voting tab straight away, eager to see the results..if any were to be shown. And of course Pizza Hut would always be rising above Pasta Hut. If every person were to click on ‘Pasta Hut’, I promise you Pizza Hut would always come out on top on this online voting ad, it’s just pure brilliance in advertising…

Amazing, and in all honesty now when i walk past a Pizza Hut, this will definitely remind me of Pasta! Just a shame I hate and as many are not really drawn to pasta or their Pizzas! I would have gone with something more original tha Pasta. So although there advertising has been a huge success, their main flaw is the food, and as it is a food place..well…I’m sure sales are not going to rocket.
Nick 08 Oct 2008 at 5:39 pm: Talk about advertising, I read this post 2 days ago when it was published but didn’t really look into it. Then saw the ad on tv today and immediately thought “blogstorm, it’s true!” and came straight here to check the comments. So it’s worked both ways
cheen 10 Oct 2008 at 8:04 pm: You should see how drastically the polls results have changed.
Tom 11 Oct 2008 at 2:14 am: They released a tv ad on April 1st about the name change, and it was later confirmed as an April Fools joke. Now it’s happening again, could it be another joke or are they serious this time? I bet their lawyers hate this game.
Balls 05 Nov 2008 at 2:29 pm: Yes
Jon 06 Dec 2008 at 1:14 am: I used to love Pizza Hut pizzas! Am so annoyed they’ve stopped doing them.

I can see that some people like pasta, but surely the customers they’ll lose (ie me) by stopping pizza outweigh the ones they’ll gain from switching to pasta. I suppose I’ll have to go to Pizza Express now. They’re OK, but I’ll miss the Deep Pans!

I mean, who wants to go to a ‘Pasta Buffet’. Yuk.