Agency: Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Boulder, Colo.
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Man, what is it with this guy? Does he just really like
apologizing? |
That very same month, to promote its line of pasta dishes, the
chain ran a commercial of a hip-hop penne noodle called Pasta Dude.
Curiously, it looked less like a penne than a penis -- a penis
rapper, to be specific, thrusting himself at a Domino's entree in a
way that reminded many people of a major act of sodomy. The
campaign was very short-lived.
Then, to begin the new year, the chain bought millions of
dollars of advertising to announce to the world -- are you ready
for this? -- how horrible its product has been for the past 40
years. Yep, there's Patrick Doyle again, coming clean about
Domino's Pizza recipe deficiencies and once again promising to make
things right:
"There comes a time," he says, "when you have to make a
change."
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been nine months
since my last confession. I twice took the Lord's name in vain, I
put a rapping schlong on TV and my pizza is inedible.
Man, what is it with this guy? Does he just really like
apologizing? Sure seems like it, because next we see focus group
members dissing the brand ("Domino's pizza crust to me is like
cardboard.") and Domino's employees, ahem, regurgitating the
comments of consumers dissing the brand ("The sauce tastes like
ketchup." "The worst excuse for pizza I've ever had. Totally void
of flavor.")
Now AdReview has always admired candor in advertising. Not only
is it disarming every now and then to put your second-best foot
forward, it is potentially quite refreshing and a good way to
establish trust. Within limits, that is. First of all, you can only
generate trust so often before you just start eyes to roll. General
Motors has been apologizing for four decades, but never quite
making good on its promises to put the bad old days in the rear
view mirror.
More importantly, it is one thing to eat a little crow and
another to overdose on sodium pentathol. Please note the slogan was
"Have You Driven a Ford Lately?" -- not "Did You Really Drive Those
Crapmobiles Till Now?" We have never advised shading the truth, but
even felons have the right to clam up to avoid self-incrimination.
For Domino's, something banal along the lines of "tangy new crust,
bold new flavor" might have done the trick just fine. Merely
juxtaposing the word "Domino's" and "flavor" is enough to get
anybody's attention. OK, not as much attention as this campaign is
generating, but consider the risks:
- Many customers will resent
the company for knowingly serving cardboard and ketchup for four
decades.
- The new recipe, by virtue of
its very tang (tangitude? tangosity?) will turn off many other
Domino's customers who favored the brand because of its
blandness.
- Everyone fancies himself a
pizza expert. Many of those previously contented customers -- who
by the way are by definition the majority of the customer base --
will be steamed to be told they have bad taste in pizza. They won't
think they've been leveled with.
They will think they've been Pasta Duded.
