diff --git a/pyramid/scripts/pcreate.py b/pyramid/scripts/pcreate.py
index f3121a915c..52f8fea5e3 100644
--- a/pyramid/scripts/pcreate.py
+++ b/pyramid/scripts/pcreate.py
@@ -22,7 +22,13 @@ def main(argv=sys.argv, quiet=False):
 
 class PCreateCommand(object):
     verbosity = 1 # required
-    description = "Render Pyramid scaffolding to an output directory"
+    description = """\
+Render Pyramid scaffolding to an output directory.
+
+Note: As of Pyramid 1.8, this command is deprecated. Use a specific
+cookiecutter instead:
+https://github.com/pylons/?query=cookiecutter
+"""
     usage = "usage: %prog [options] -s <scaffold> output_directory"
     parser = optparse.OptionParser(usage, description=description)
     parser.add_option('-s', '--scaffold',
@@ -77,6 +83,7 @@ def __init__(self, argv, quiet=False):
         self.scaffolds = self.all_scaffolds()
 
     def run(self):
+        self._warn_pcreate_deprecated()
         if self.options.list:
             return self.show_scaffolds()
         if not self.options.scaffold_name and not self.args:
@@ -212,5 +219,12 @@ def confirm_bad_name(self, prompt): # pragma: no cover
         answer = input_('{0} [y|N]: '.format(prompt))
         return answer.strip().lower() == 'y'
 
+    def _warn_pcreate_deprecated(self):
+        self.out('''\
+Note: As of Pyramid 1.8, this command is deprecated. Use a specific
+cookiecutter instead:
+https://github.com/pylons/?query=cookiecutter
+''')
+
 if __name__ == '__main__': # pragma: no cover
     sys.exit(main() or 0)
diff --git a/pyramid/tests/test_scripts/test_pcreate.py b/pyramid/tests/test_scripts/test_pcreate.py
index eaa7c1464b..8e6cc2847c 100644
--- a/pyramid/tests/test_scripts/test_pcreate.py
+++ b/pyramid/tests/test_scripts/test_pcreate.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def test_run_show_scaffolds_exist(self):
         result = cmd.run()
         self.assertEqual(result, 0)
         out = self.out_.getvalue()
-        self.assertTrue(out.startswith('Available scaffolds'))
+        self.assertTrue(out.count('Available scaffolds'))
 
     def test_run_show_scaffolds_none_exist(self):
         cmd = self._makeOne('-l')
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ def test_run_show_scaffolds_none_exist(self):
         result = cmd.run()
         self.assertEqual(result, 0)
         out = self.out_.getvalue()
-        self.assertTrue(out.startswith('No scaffolds available'))
+        self.assertTrue(out.count('No scaffolds available'))
 
     def test_run_no_scaffold_no_args(self):
         cmd = self._makeOne(quiet=True)
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ def test_run_no_scaffold_name(self):
         result = cmd.run()
         self.assertEqual(result, 2)
         out = self.out_.getvalue()
-        self.assertTrue(out.startswith(
+        self.assertTrue(out.count(
             'You must provide at least one scaffold name'))
 
     def test_no_project_name(self):
@@ -54,14 +54,14 @@ def test_no_project_name(self):
         result = cmd.run()
         self.assertEqual(result, 2)
         out = self.out_.getvalue()
-        self.assertTrue(out.startswith('You must provide a project name'))
+        self.assertTrue(out.count('You must provide a project name'))
 
     def test_unknown_scaffold_name(self):
         cmd = self._makeOne('-s', 'dummyXX', 'distro')
         result = cmd.run()
         self.assertEqual(result, 2)
         out = self.out_.getvalue()
-        self.assertTrue(out.startswith('Unavailable scaffolds'))
+        self.assertTrue(out.count('Unavailable scaffolds'))
 
     def test_known_scaffold_single_rendered(self):
         import os