So, I just saw a commercial for the new Pizza Hut Natural Pizza last night. And I couldn’t help but wonder, “What exactly do they mean by natural?”… “What does that say about their other pizzas (are they unnatural by default)?”… And “Is the name “Natural” enough to make increasingly savvy consumers buy it without asking the first two questions?” Let me first say that I worked in a Pizza Hut for 3 months when I was a teenager. So I have some idea what goes on one of their regular (or should I now say unnatural pizzas?). And except for the fact that you do get some vegetables on the pies, there really isn’t a whole lot that’s particularly healthy about them. So I have my doubts about this new pie, or their commitment to healthier food. In my mind, Pizza Hut is just trying to jump on healthy food bandwagon. In the commercial they only mention one organic ingredient—the tomatoes in the sauce. Everything else is just “natural”. So if the veggies and cheese on this pie are “natural”, does that mean the stuff on their other pizzas is plastic? Or genetically modified? Apparently a few years ago they were brought to task because their mozzarella didn’t have enough cheese in it to meet FDA standards and be called mozzarella… I can’t say for sure (I searched online, but their most updated ingredient list is almost 2 years old), but I wonder if there are partially hydrogenated oils, preservatives and/or high fructose corn syrup in the whole grain crust, and even the sauce.  Then there’s the partially hydrogenated grease they (probably still) spray use to grease the pizza pans. Maybe I’m just a jaded marketer. But I am sick and tired of businesses saying their product is one thing, when in fact it is not. It’s like our current administration with their Healthy Forests Initiative (basically a golden pass to clear cut indiscriminately) and Clear Skies Act (that weakens pollution controls). Words like natural and healthy are not defined or regulated. So they are really meaningless. In fact, some products with these labels are actually worse for you (just read the ingredients). And these companies know it. Now, I’m not saying this isn’t a better, healthier Pizza Hut option. All I’m saying is, I’m not going to start eating Pizza Hut just because of this new “natural” pizza. In my mind, Pizza Hut has never been about healthy eating. And I find it hard to believe they suddenly are now. There must be a limit to the amount of “bend the meaning” marketing people are going to buy into before they realize it’s a bunch of hooey. Consumers might be lazy, but they aren’t stupid. In fact, when I did a quick Google search, I found a couple of posts out there already from people questioning the “naturalness” of the pizza. I don’t think savvy consumers are going to be fooled by this. To me, this is a big lesson for all marketers—regardless of the size of your business. You have to be truthful in your advertising. If you don’t, you might have a ton of sales for awhile. But eventually it’s going to come back and bite you in the butt. What do you think? Please leave a comment below… [tags] natural pizza, pizza, Pizza Hut, marketing, marketing ploy,  healthy pizza, healthier pizza, advertising, truthful advertising [/tags]