If anyone has seen the latest campaign by Domino’s they have probably been surprised by the honest message they are sending. They all but say “our pizza really sucks!” Now is this being too honest? It’s definitely too early to tell if this campaign is going to work for them, but you have to give them points for gutsiness in marketing.
Now that they admitted their pizza is the equivalent of that cardboard, tasteless cheese holder we used to get served in elementary school, will they do anything about it? Well according to their campaign and the social media they have wrapped around it, they are taking every measure to improve their pizza. Furthermore, Domino’s — in the spirit of upholding the brand’s policy of transparency — is hosting Twitter feeds on its site, including brutally honest posts such as this one:
“@dominos #newpizza Dumping handfuls of hot pepper into the sauce does NOT make it tastier, just more painful to eat. Won’t be back. by legotech 8 hrs, 56 mins ago”
Whether or not throwing some spices into the crust or sauce is reinventing pizza, it will be interesting to see how many people just try it to see. After viewing the commercials, uncomfortably, I turned to my wife and commented on how they have really taken a chance with this approach and furthermore opened themselves up to competition smack down. To which she commented, “their pizza is terrible but maybe it’s worth trying again to see if they actually did make it better?”
Ahhh Dominos – pure genius or total stupidity? – only time will tell.
COMMENTS
2 Comments
Take Two Visual Media
January 29th, 2010 10:29 AM
Ok I’ll be the first since I am curious as to how this campaign will pan out for Domino’s. When I first saw the commercial I actually rewound it (DVR) and played it for my wife because I couldn’t beleive how honest they were being.
I had always thought the same thing about their product, bland/cardboard etc. I think this is a make or break move for Domino’s. They lost market share to Papa John’s and the many local pizza shops around the country. The ad stands out because no one is that bluntly honest in their ads. People may be curious and try it out. If it wasn’t for Twin Trees, I would too!
Andy
July 8th, 2010 03:40 PM
Months later, some of the same ads are still running on print and television and Domino’s has made it. While it’s not an approach I would’ve favored, in this instance, I believe it worked because the superiority of the product was there to back up the questionable marketing.