Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010

Mikhail Gorbachev, Pizza Hut

Perestroika, glasnost ... pizza? In a victory for capitalism, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev filmed a commercial for Pizza Hut in 1997. The spot shows him treating his granddaughter to a cheese pie while other Russian patrons discuss his legacy (economic ruin or freedom?). In the end, all hail him — for bringing them pizza. Gorbachev said he did the commercial to earn money for his eponymous foundation. He also noted that pizza was about bringing people together. A decade later he traded fast food for luxury luggage, appearing in a print ad for Louis Vuitton.