Despite several reports over the past two weeks that Pizza Hut is slicing out the word "Pizza" and rebranding itself as "The Hut", the stalwart Yum Brands chain finally issued a statement to the contrary on Friday.

While our sister blog PRNewser offers a full report including the press release, we managed to snag a quick explanation regarding the rumors from Pizza Hut spokesman Chris Fuller, who says:

"We just started using [The Hut] more and more in our marketing. And with text and mobile ordering, it's just easier to type in 'The Hut'. From there, we went for a cleaner, more contemporary look to put on our pizza boxes, but there is no name change. [The Hut] is never a standalone marketing technique."

BBDO, the chain's AOR, further validated the company's response, stating that they are unaware of any marketing plans to coincide with "The Hut." Pizza Hut loyalists, you can now breathe a sigh of relief. So much for all the Star Wars and Spaceballs jokes, though.

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