Historic Pizza Hut ad featuring Mikhail Gorbachev goes viral after his death - WATCH
Gorbachev in Pizza Hut ad
The fall of Soviet Union ushered in an era of economic transition from communism in Russia and a vocal supporter of the change was president Mikhail Gorbachev. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who died on Tuesday at the age of 91, brought a number of American franchise businesses to Russia at that time and even starred in a 1997 Pizza Hut commercial that is going viral now.
The ad showed a number of Russians discussing politics while sitting at a Pizza Hut. Gorbachev was seated at a corner of the shop and after noticing him, they started discussing his political legacy.
"Because of him, we have economic confusion!" one person said.
"Because of him, we have opportunity!" the other responded.
"Because of him, we have political instability," the first man said.
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"Because of him, we have many things ... like Pizza Hut," an elderly lady interjected while all of them said "Hail Gorbachev!" and the narrator spoke about how “pizza brought everyone together”.
It was a rare occurrence at that time for a former president to feature in an ad and according to Foreign Policy, Gorbachev actually had a clause in his contract that he will not eat pizza during the shoot. The report also said that the former president received a handsome fee for his appearance.He featured in advertisement campaigns for Western brands to raise money his charity foundation.
While there was criticism regarding his participation in the ad, Gorbachev said that "pizza is for everyone."
"It's not only consumption," the Russian leader said according to Business Insider. "It's also socialising."
WATCH |Last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who ended Cold War without bloodshed, passes away at 91