Hut abandons plan for piz-za the debate

Was Pizza Hut executing a clever marketing campaign or messing with the democratic process?

Apparently there were enough people thinking the latter for the pizza company to stop doing the former.

The restaurant chain announced Friday that it has suspended its offer to provide a lifetime supply of pizza to anyone who asked, at tomorrow's presidential debate, both candidates whether they prefer sausage or pepperoni on their pizza.

Instead it will move the campaign online, where everyone will have a chance to pursue pizza for life privileges.

The campaign had received criticism from a number of different quarters, including Gawker, Salon and a number of online forums, for attempting to turn the democratic process into a pizza commercial.

While Pizza Hut did not acknowledge the criticism in its announcement that it was suspending the campaign, it did say that the "buzz" surrounding the stunt had proven that the question of pizza topping preference is indeed important.

"We're no longer asking a few hundred attendees at the town hall presidential debate on Oct. 16 to pose the question, rather we're bringing the question — sausage or pepperoni? — to millions of Americans," said Pizza Hut chief market officer Kurt Kane in a statement.

Tags: alternative media, campaign, debate, Kurt Kane, lifetime, marketing, online, people, pizza hut, pizza hut debate, pizza hut presidential debate, pizza topings debate, pizza toppings presidential debate, presidential debate