Pizza Hut Wants Someone to Ask “Pepperoni or Sausage?” at Debate

Promotion leaves some North Texas voters with bitter taste

Some North Texans say Pizza Hut is acting in poor taste by offering "free pizza for life" to whoever asks "sausage or pepperoni?" during Tuesday's presidential debate.

The Plano-based pizza chain released a video on its official YouTube channel on Tuesday that offers a lifetime's worth of pizza to whoever quizzes the presidential candidates about their pizza preferences during Tuesday's debate.

"The next debate is town hall style -- meaning real people ask real questions. ... If someone asks a question about pizza during the next debate on October 16th, Pizza Hut will provide them with free pizza for life," the video says.

The offer translates to one large pizza per week for 30 years -- reportedly a more than $15,000 value.

But the promotion is rankling voters in North Texas.

Amanda Frances McKinney, of Dallas, said her first impression after watching the video on her smartphone was that the actual debate would be overshadowed.

"I thought it was ridiculous," she said. "It feels like they're making a mockery of something really serious."

Others agreed.

"It's a stupid publicity thing," Udit Mehrotra, of Plano, said.

"This is the time we should be asking serious questions," Ajed Singh, of Richardson, said.

Lanira Warner called the stunt "silly" but said the financial motivation might inspire someone to stand up and ask, "Pepperoni or sausage?"

(According to the promotion, "Sausage or pepperoni?" is also an acceptable question.)

Pizza Hut did not return NBC 5's calls or emails for comment. The pizza chain is part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Inc.

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