Russian Pizza Hut advert starring Gorbachev goes viral

An old Pizza Hut advertisement made in Russia has resurfaced on Twitter and it has gone viral because it starred Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union before it fell apart in 1991.

The ad shows Gorbachev enjoying pizza with his granddaughter in a Pizza Hut outlet. Patrons at the chain then start noticing him and a discussion ensues about the good and bad decisions taken by the political leader. Here is the tweet that went viral:

Although the advertisement was shot in Russia, it was never released because Gorbachev was unpopular because it is widely believed that he allowed the USSR to break and form a number of different countries, a NY Times report from 1997 claimed.

"To put it another way, Mr Gorbachev's endorsement of Pizza Hut could well cause sales in Moscow to drop dramatically," the report concluded. It also said that though Gorbachev did not want to shoot brand commercials, he made an exception for Pizza Hut, and was reportedly paid $1 million for his appearance in the advertisement.

The same user then tweeted another visual of Gorbachev starring in an ad for Louis Vuitton: