Dave Portnoy backs Pizza Hut rebrand as ‘sensible – Business News
The “One Bite” pizza reviewer and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy threw his assist behind Yum! Brands’ marketing campaign to briefly rebrand Pizza Hut, praising the pizza chain’s strategic advertising transfer as “brilliant” whereas pitching company executives on directing promoting {dollars} towards Barstool Sports during soccer season.
“At first, I didn’t really get it. But I’ll say this, Stuart. We do business with Pizza Hut. And we want them to spend lots of money with Barstool. So I think it’s a brilliant move. Whoever came up with that, I like it,” Portnoy mentioned on “Varney & Co.” Friday.
“They’re thinking smart. It’s football season. There it is, the football with the ‘Hut.’ And you know, they’re gonna spread this message. They gotta find some new media vehicles that cover football,” he continued, “and maybe do a little bit of an ad spend to let people know what’s going on so they don’t get confused.”
Dave Portnoy visits the Megyn Kelly show at SiriusXM Studios on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in New York City. Getty Images
FOX Business host Stuart Varney replied: “And Barstool Sports is ideally situated to pick up a little pizza business, right?”
“You don’t say!” Portnoy responded.
Pizza Hut undergoes a title change for the soccer season. Pizza Hut / Instagram
On Wednesday, the chain introduced that it’ll go by “Hut” for the subsequent 25 weeks, coinciding with the 2026 NFL season.
“You can just call us HUT for the next 25 weeks,” Pizza Hut wrote in a social media post asserting the momentary rebrand.
The company confirmed off the change at a restaurant in Plano, Texas, the place a banner that includes a soccer lined the phrase “Pizza” on the restaurant’s exterior signal. Pizza Hut, which is headquartered in Plano, additionally modified its social media profile photos to a brand with out the phrase “Pizza.”
