Papa John's is pulling founder's image from its marketing [View all]
Source: Associated Press
Candice Choi, Ap Food Industry Writer
Updated 11:21 am CDT, Friday, July 13, 2018
NEW YORK (AP) — Papa John's, which has featured founder John Schnatter in logos and TV ads, is pulling his image from its marketing after reports he used a racial slur.
His face was off at least some materials by late morning Friday, though the company said the details and exact timing for everything were still being worked out. The pizza chain said Friday there are no plans to change its name.
Schnatter has long been the face of the brand, and Papa John's has acknowledged in regulatory filings that its business could be hurt if Schnatter's reputation was damaged. Papa John's got a taste of that last year, when Schnatter stepped down as CEO after blaming disappointing pizza sales on the outcry surrounding football players kneeling during the national anthem.
This week, Papa John's was already trying to further publicly distance itself from Schnatter after Forbes reported he used the N-word during a conference call in May. Schnatter apologized and said he would resign as chairman. That prompted the company's stock to recover some of the losses it suffered after the report, and shares climbed another 3 percent Friday.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/APNewsBreak-Papa-John-s-to-pull-founder-from-13072291.php
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