Sunday, August 4, 2019
Pizza Hut Matchbook
I was recently reading about how Pizza Hut is bringing back one of their old logo designs (you can read all the details HERE.) They're not going back in time quite far enough to the logo (and super mascot) that I grew up lovin' so much, so I thought I'd dig out one of my favorite matchbooks and give you all a taste of which design that I believe actually reigns supreme!
Wow. I love the detail in the building of the little mascot guy. That matchbook is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI miss the days of branded architectural design. I mean Pizza Hut, IHOP, Whataburger, even Taco Bell--these could be IDed from a mile away by the shape alone. Strip malls and so-called "lifestyle centers" came along and ruined everything. Now shops are grouped into homogenized "neighborhoods" with elements that are cosmetically indistinct from one another. But it's still interesting to roll past an old Pizza Hut that's been turned into a mattress store or a vape place or whatever. There's a palpable sense of mom-and-pop reclamation. Recycling at the macro level.
ReplyDeleteI like the old-timey mascot here a lot. Better than anything since. I got no love for the seventies and eighties branding I grew up with. Honestly, Pizza Hut is one rare cases in which I like the modern thing better than my childhood version. (I have no idea if the pizza's still the same or not.)
Pizza Pete was the best! And man, those buildings were just so great. You can still find them here and there. They definitely lost a LOT in recent years with their swoopy, horrible logos and marketing, calling it "The Hut", adding fucking wings, etc. I'd eat there a lot if they went back to having sit-down restaurants. Nothing better than sharing a Pizza Hut pizza and a pitcher of Pepsi with your friends.
ReplyDeleteFun fact - the German word "Hut" (pronounced like "hoot") means "hat", whereas the English "hut" is a word that is not necessarily in the vocabulary of the average person. You will meet many people here in Germany that talk about "pizza hoot" (meaning "a pizza hat"), in absolute certainty that the roof shape in the logo is, of course, depicting a hat.
ReplyDeleteI have an ex-Pizza Hut a short distance away that's now a Cash Money - home of The Casharoo (a ragged kangaroo wearing a Cash Money t-shirt)!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was excited when I read they were restoring the original logo, but disappointed Pizza Pete (or original buildings) wasn't making a comeback.
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