During 1998 the Soviet Union had already been disbanded for around seven years. However, the majority of Russias people believed that Communism was still the best way to run a country. These communist believers however were quickly diminishing due to them being continuously influenced by western capitalism. Though nothing came closer to breaking Russias Communist followers than the fabled Pizza Hut commercial of 1998, which was filmed in a Pizza Hut in Moscow with an extremely important person to those in Russia, whether they liked him, or not.
Pizza Hut, as well as other fast food restaurants originally grounded in the USA were starting to make their way into the Soviet Union around the 1990s, with McDonalds being the first restaurant to do so. Pizza Hut, however, had the biggest impact on the already disbanded Soviet Union, not as a country but as its way of life and economics, Communism. Many people regarded this commercial as the rise of capitalism in Russia and the fall of Communism for the time being. This commercial included the last leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev sitting down with a little girl, presumably his granddaughter and eating a pizza. It then cuts to 2 people arguing about Gorbachev and trying to convince the other that he had saved/destroyed the Soviet Union and all of its people. At the end of it an old woman stands up and says “he has given us a lot of things, like Pizza Hut!” and they all stand up and toast him using slices of pizza.
The significance of this commercial is that it signified not only the fall of the Soviet Union but the fall of communism and the introduction of capitalism in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev, who had allowed elections and a multiple party system slowly started the downfall of the Soviet Union and the introduction to Capitalism. Him being the star of a western fast food commercial showed that the country had officially fallen to the ways of western civilization due to the actions of former leader Gorbachev, and the executives at Pizza Hut making the commercial know that. All in all, time and time again Pizza Hut has shown that no one, not even the Soviet Union, can out pizza the Hut.
Do you believe Pizza Hut had anything to do with the downfall of Communism in the Soviet Union?
Why do you think Pizza Hut had decided to use former leader of the Soviet Union Gorbachev as the star of their commerical?
The Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgm14D1jHUw
Replies
Love this and I think I might borrow this commercial for future use when talking about the fall of the USSR. Great topic choice and great job Jonathan!
I think that this is a very crazy idea but it isn't totally impossible. I don't think that it was the totally major cause however I think that little things added up become al lot so if a little bit of everything was together I do think that Pizza Hut could be apart of it.
I think that it is a wild, and extreme idea that this was the overall main cause. I think that while this could have influenced it, I would not say it is the main reason. I think the fall of communism could have been caused by many other things besides PizzaHut commercials.
i dont think pizza hut was the main cause for the fall of comunism the comercial might have influenced it a little. but i feel like there were many other things that contributed to the fall of communism
Bump
No but they might have had an infulence on it.
I don't think Pizza hut had anything to do with the faliure and disbandment of Communism, because Pizza Hut is it's own entity outside of Communism. The advertisement people might've held Gorbachev at gunpoint and forced him into the ad.
I dont think that pizza hut directly affect communism, but I can see how it may have influenced it.
No, ultimately I don't think Pizza Hut had anything to do with the fall of communism, but I'm sure that the publicity and the message that the Pizza Hut commercial sent definitely helped. I think that if the goal of the commercial was to signify the demise of communism and the rise of capitalism in Russia, then the commercial was a good example considering the fact that they used Gorbachev in their commercial.
I don't think that Pizza Hut directly influenced the fall of communism in the Sovier Union, but the commercial especially shows how communism had completely fallen off in the Soviet Union. I think that Pizza Hut used Gorbachev to mock communism, using an influential leader to advertise a fast food chain.
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