Domino’s Pizza Celebrates 25 Years Since the Noid

Domino’s Pizza will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of its advertising campaign known as the Noid. In 1986, the claymation character was part gremlin and part masked crusader against the well-oiled machine that is the process of Domino’s delivery.

A new game is on Facebook called Noid’s Super Pizza Shootout . Contestants who score the highest will get a free pizza until Aug. 15, 2011. Domino’s touts over 10,000 pizzas will be given away at a clip of one per minute.

The Noid has returned to pester pizza customers 25 years after he started. Here’s a glimpse into some of Domino’s advertising campaigns since that time.

1986: Avoid the Noid

Domino’s launched its “Avoid the Noid” campaign by claiming your pizza will be hot and fresh despite the annoying gremlin. He tries to freeze pizzas and even crush them in his animated 30-second spots. There was even a Nintendo game called “Yo! Noid” as a part of the advertising. Kids would love the dastardly deeds the character played while parents then needed to buy pizzas.

1993: 30 Minute Guarantee Dropped

After a $78 million lawsuit against the company, Domino’s dropped its 30 minute delivery guarantee in 1993. A woman was hit by a delivery driver in 1989 and sued claiming, the company’s 30 minute or it’s free guarantee caused irreparable harm. Funding Universe states as many as 20 deaths in the United States have been attributed to the pizza chain’s drivers from 1973 to 1989.

2003: Official Pizza of NASCAR

In 2003, Domino’s launched its “Official Pizza of NASCAR” advertising in order to get weekly recognition in front of millions of racing fans at the track and on television. The push culminated in the naming of an entire race the Domino’s Pizza 250 on the Nationwide Series. In 2007, the chain increased its involvement by sponsoring a car on the Sprint Cup stage with Michael Waltrip.

2010: World’s Fastest Pizza Maker

In 2010, Pali Grewal won the title of World’s Fastest Pizza Maker by making three large pizzas in just 39.17 seconds. PRNewswire/FirstCall reported the competition has been around since 1982, with times getting faster and faster. Each store in the chain can send employees to the pizza making contest, where contestants are clocked by how fast they can make Domino’s pies. Instead of faster delivery, perhaps Domino’s turned its focus to faster pizza making.

2011: Bad Pizza

The newest marketing craze for Domino’s has employees and even the CEO on camera saying how bad their pizza is. The point of the commercials is that the chain claims to listen to customer input when they hear things like a thin crust pizza “tasting like cardboard.” The Washington Post reports there are commercials and web videos about how Domino’s has been trying to improve its ingredients and the crust.

These videos are in conjunction with the “You Got 30 Minutes” slogan that harkens back to its guarantee. There are also plenty of cool online games at the Domino’s website to play for those consumers who like social networking and playing games over the Internet.


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