Papa John's

In 1984, John Schnatter, founder, chairman, and former CEO of Papa John's, sold his cherished 1971 Z28 Camaro to buy $1,600 worth of restaurant equipment to open a pizza joint. Now that he's got a worldwide empire under his belt, Schnatter has set out on a cross-country mission to find his original Camaro. He's even offering $25,000 to the person who reunites him with his long-lost ride.

Papa John has already hit up Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, and Louisville on his road trip, but so far, there's been no sign of the gold, double racing-striped Z28. Check out the publicity stunt, which has been documented at length on a promotional website, Papa's Road Trip.

I think the contest — which requires the winner to show written proof of John Schnatter as a past title owner — is wonderfully random and entertaining and I'll be checking up on it periodically. What do you think of the whole endeavor?

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Late last week, the founder of Papa John's pizza chain, John Schnatter, warned customers against eating too much pizza. The unexpected advice was given during an interview with BBC's Radio Four program in the UK. Schnatter got himself into trouble when he said:

Pizza's actually healthy for you if you don't eat too much of it. You can't eat five or six slices but if you eat one or two slices it's very nutritious.

The BBC presenter, Adam Shaw, was quick to respond pointing out that he's not sure Papa John's "investors would want to hear you [Schnatter] tell people don't eat too much of our pizzas." Although some may see this as a horrible slip, I think Schnatter is responsibly representing the everything-in-moderation diet. Perhaps, if the creator of Garden of Eatin' blue corn tortilla chips had warned Oprah not to eat an entire bag, she would not have gained the weight.

What do you think of his comment? Was it wrong for him to state the truth because it could negatively affect the sale of pizzas?

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Foodies may be serious about eating, but apparently they're serious about computers: Fast-food chains, food companies, and food celebrities are raising their profiles on social-networking platform Facebook.

Last month, we mentioned that Pizza Hut was the first fast-food chain to launch a Facebook online ordering system, so die-hard users never have to leave the site to order dinner. And yesterday, number one fast-food chain McDonald's launched a Facebook fan site of its own to honor the 25th anniversary of its wildly popular Chicken McNuggets.

In a push to connect to its younger customers, pizza delivery Papa John's has launched a new promotion: Anyone who becomes a "fan" of the Papa John's page on Facebook will receive an online redemption code for a free medium pizza with any online order.

It isn't just fast-food chains who are promoting themselves on Facebook — other food industry insiders are following suit. Candy company Mars advertised its "Get Some Nuts" campaign for Snickers on Facebook, and rumors about Next Food Network Star finalist Lisa Garza spread after she changed her marital status on her Facebook page.

I'm surprised to learn that Facebook has become so important in the world of food. Have you been following the food and beverage industry there?

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