Experts say that businesses undergo brand changes often, and that only the most resilient brands can remain intact with minimal maintenance for a decade or more.
If that’s the case, then Pizza Hut’s branding is uncommonly strong.
The venerable pizza chain has gone through a mere four major rebrands, with the 1974 “red roof” logo remaining in use for an astonishing 25 years. In the early years, the makeup of the Pizza Hut brand was in many cases a product of circumstance. Dan Carney’s wife, Barb, sewed the now-iconic red checked tablecloths for the first store in east Wichita. What started as a few decorative touches became an integral part of Pizza Hut’s DNA.
Though it came from humble beginnings, the iconic red roof became a symbol recognized across the globe. From the improvised decor of a tiny restaurant in south central Kansas grew one of the world’s most recognizable brands.
Image: Dan Carney sitting in a mini Mustang like the one featured in the iconic “Putt Putt to the Pizza Hut” commercial. This picture is likely doctored. Courtesy of the Carney Collection, Ablah Library Special Collections.
Image: A delivery box concept for the launch of Pizza Hut’s “The Flavor of Now” campaign, 2014. Courtesy of Pizza Hut/Yum! Brands.
1958 - 1974: The original Pizza Hut logo included then-iconic brand mascot Pizza Pete holding the Pizza Hut wordmark by two strings, one for each hand. While Pizza Pete and the Pizza Hut wordmark were well-recognized on their own, the logo itself was less visible.
1974 - 1999: For many, the 1974 logo is the peak expression of the Pizza Hut identity. The logo was designed by Pizza Hut marketing executive Sam Moyers in consultation with Lippincot Margolis ad agency. Instantly recognizable, at twenty-five years this logo holds the record as the longest- serving symbol of Pizza Hut and its franchisees.
1999 - 2014: Pizza Hut replaced the 1974 logo with this refreshed, dynamic version. The iconic red roof, while stylized, remains in the logo, and yellow and green colors join to the traditional red. As of 2017, this is the only pizza logo to make its way to space.
2014 - : Designed by Deutch LA, the this iteration of the Pizza Hut logo, bound by a swirl of red sauce, launched with the restaurant’s revamped “Flavor of Now” menu. Uniforms (shown below) are more relaxed, and include a shirt featuring the 1974 logo.
Image: Employee uniform concept for the launch of Pizza Hut’s “The Flavor of Now” campaign, 2014. Note the return of the famous 1974 red roof logo. Courtesy of Pizza Hut/Yum! Brands.
In the restaurant’s early years, Pizza Hut sought an icon to compete for space in the American consumer’s imagination, vying for attention alongside Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders. As they did so often, the Carneys turned to someone they already knew to create their new mascot: Ed Pointer, an illustrator and fraternity brother to Dan Carney.
Pointer created Pizza Pete, a fun-loving pizza slinger sporting a slouch hat, neckerchief, and stylish mustache. Over the years, Pizza Pete showcased his flexibility, going from lassoing pizzas like a cowboy to embracing the countercultural movements of the late 1960s. Though Pizza Pete eventually fell into disuse, many longtime Pizza Hut fans still recall his prominent place on restaurant signage, print materials, and promotions.
Artifact Credit: Max Ewert, 2017.9.1 Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology.
As they did so many times in the early days of Pizza Hut, the Carney brothers turned to a close friend to help them shape their business. In the 1960s Dan Carney asked architect Richard Burke, his high school friend and fraternity brother at Wichita State University, to draw up the plans for a design concept and look for Pizza Hut. Burke proposed what may now be the most recognizable corporate architecture in the United States: A sloped, shingled roof sitting over a warmly lit brick building. The angles of the roof are repeated in the shapes of the windows.
Burke requested $30,000 for his services, which Pizza Hut could not afford at the time. Burke agreed to a fee of $100 for every building built with his design. This payment plan worked out well for Burke: 5,000 stores later, Dan Carney joked that, “it was a nice little stipend for him.”
Images:
ABOVE LEFT: An early iteration of the Pizza Hut architectural style.
RIGHT: A drawing of the Pizza Hut architectural concept, by Richard Burke. Courtesy of the Carney Collection, Ablah Library Special Collections.
Comedian Tom Musial collects pictures of former Huts that still sport the iconic roof and window shapes on a site named "Used To Be A Pizza Hut".
Case content: "Putt Putt to the Pizza Hut" sheet music, "Putt Putt to the Pizza Hut" record. Written and produced by Carney associates, “Putt Putt to the Pizza Hut” was Pizza Hut’s first commercial, and one of its most memorable. Dan and Gayla Carney Collection, 2017.7.20 Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology; Courtesy of the Carney Collection, Ablah Library Special Collections.
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