Pizza Hut is rethinking its contest daring peopleto ask "Sausage or pepperoni?" at Tuesday's U.S. presidential debate.
After the stunt led to criticism last week, the restaurantchain says it's moving the promotion online, where a contestant will berandomly selected to win free pizza for life.
Pizza Hut had offered the prize — a pie a week for 30 years,or a check for $15,600 — to anyone who posed the question to either PresidentBarack Obama or Republican candidate Mitt Romney during the live debate.
But blogs and media outlets immediately criticized the chainfor trying to capitalize on the election buzz.
On Comedy Central's "Colbert Report," host StephenColbert asked, "What could be more American than using our electoralprocess for product placement?"
The blog Gawker wrote about the stunt under the headline,"Want Free Pizza Hut Pizza for Life? Just Make a Mockery of the AmericanDemocratic System on Live TV."
Pizza Hut spokesman Doug Terfehr said the majority of thefeedback the company has seen has been positive. He said that moving thecontest online was a "natural progression of the campaign" afterpeople got excited about the idea and "wished they could get in onit."
Pizza Hut, a unit of Yum Brands Inc., says it will stillhonor the prize if someone poses the question live at the debate. But it'sencouraging everyone to participate in the new online version, wherecontestants must enter their email addresses and zip codes to be eligible. Thecompany will award two prizes if someone does ask the question.
The change comes after Pizza Hut's stunt became the butt ofjokes last week.
In a segment on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report,"host Stephen Colbert asked, "What could be more American than using ourelectoral process for product placement?"
Colbert said the prize for a free Pizza Hut pie every weekmeant that "if you eat one of their pizzas every week, you will die in 30years."
The blog Gawker wrote about the stunt under the headline,"Want Free Pizza Hut Pizza for Life? Just Make a Mockery of the AmericanDemocratic System on Live TV." The site wrote that all the contestant hadto do was "embarrass themselves on live television before the President ofthe United States and millions of their fellow Americans."
Pizza Hut's stunt comes as TV audiences have becomeincreasingly resistant to traditional commercials. As marketers look for newways to engage viewers, the presidential election has presented a rareopportunity.
Earlier this month, an estimated 67.2 million people watchedthe first debate between Obama and Romney. That made it the largest TV audiencefor a presidential debate since 1992, according to Nielsen's ratings service.