West End

The Little Extras...

Whether they are called giveaways, activities, swag, or toys, free add-ons help to keep a company at the forefront of the customer’s mind. Over the years, the Carneys have collected quite a few of the “extras” Pizza Hut gave away to customers over decades of selling pizza.

These gifts and promotional items tell us something about the company that offered them, the customer that took them, and the culture to which they belonged. Do you think any of the promotions on display here might still be effective today?

Image: A pizza box design with paper finger puppets printed on the top, 1972. Courtesy of the Carney Collection, Ablah Library Special Collections.

Reader Rail Case contents: Complimentary matchbooks from different eras of Pizza Hut. Dan and Gayla Carney Collection, 2017.7.122-5 Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology.

Pedestal Case Contents: Pizza Hut Skipper, in box, Pizza Hut Barbie. Cross-promotions like this were meant to enhance both participating brands. Dan and Gayla Carney Collection, 2017.7.42, 2017.7.44 Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology

Want to See More?

Be sure to return to the museum periodically to see rotating exhibits featuring the Dan Carney collection, curated by Wichita State University museum studies students!

Reader Rail Case contents: Pizza Hut Collectors’ Edition Comic Vol. 1, featuring Wonder Woman, 1977. Dan and Gayla Carney Collection, 2017.7.79 Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology.

Free Toys for the Kids!

For many of those who grew up going to Pizza Hut, the toys and promotional items were nearly as memorable as the pizza they came with. From special edition comics featuring Wonder Woman, Batman, and the X-Men, to movie tie-ins for E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, and Beauty and the Beast, a visit to the local Pizza Hut often meant taking a piece of American culture home.

Along with in-store promotions, Pizza Hut co-branded products as diverse as Easy-Bake Ovens, basketball shoes, and Barbie dolls. In each case, the co-branding presented an opportunity to evoke a feeling in the customer. Be it a sense of nostalgia, fun, belonging, or just a hankering for a handtossed pepperoni pizza with extra cheese, co-branding the product proved mutually beneficial to Pizza Hut and its corporate partners alike.

Image: The Land Before Time promotional hand puppets, 1988.

Under the Red Roof

In the early years of Pizza Hut, there was no manual on how to run a pizza franchise. At first, each franchisee set the appearance and functioning of their own Pizza Hut. The company had to constantly improvise solutions to issues. In those early days, “the restaurants had no uniformity or standardization,” Frank Carney recalled. In order to take the next step as a business and compete, Pizza Hut had to enforce a recognizable look and feel.

To ensure that customers found a similar experience whenever they entered a Pizza Hut, the company dictated uniforms, interior design, decor, and flatware. A server in one Pizza Hut would be dressed similarly to a server in another Pizza Hut across the country. These changes ensured customers could expect the same look and feel, including those iconic red checked tablecloths and curtains that defined the Pizza Hut experience for decades.

Image: Pizza Hut employees donning mustaches for a “Go Italian” promotion. Courtesy of the Carney Collection, Ablah Library Special Collections.

Looking Back

When Pizza Hut launched its new look — including the iconic red roof logo — in 1974, the median income for a household in the U.S. was $8,030.76, the minimum wage was just over $2.00 an hour, and a small mozzarella cheese pizza cost $0.95.