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Food Fight: Law and Public Relations in Pizza Wars

Brad Reid, Andrew Borchers
January 1, 2016
SKU:
BUS-004170
Region: 
North America
Topic: 
Strategy & General Management, Marketing & Sales
Length: 
3 pages
Keywords: 
Market Share, comparison advertising, Lanham Act, restaurants, lawsuits
Copyrighted by: 
Journal of Critical Incidents
Student Price: 
$4.00 (€3.75)
Average rating: 
0

This decision-oriented critical incident addresses potential legal and marketing conflicts in the restaurant industry based on claims of superior food or of inferior competitor products. The organizational focus is Pizza Hut and its response to Domino’s in a recent comparison advertising campaign (Buss, 2015). At the time of this incident, Pizza Hut was trying to relaunch its brand and restore sales while Domino’s was gaining market share. The critical incident looks back at a historic case (Pizza Hut v. Papa John’s International) from the late 1990s with similar circumstances. The incident leaves students to answer how Pizza Hut should respond to Domino’s comparison advertising, considering legal, ethical, and marketing factors.

Learning Outcomes: 
  1. Evaluate major policy choices facing leaders in dealing with advertising claims by their firm and their competitors
  2. Recommend strategies for firms responding to competitor claims of superior food
  3. Evaluate the implications of silence in the face of competitor claims