# Domino's Bad Andy Commercials
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 27, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800 "2000-09-27T20:10:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kid\_charlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kid_charlemagne)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/1 "2000-09-27T20:10:23Z")
Am I the only one disturbed by these commercials. I mean, how is this supposed to sell pizzas? It would seem to me that if a little stuffed `whatever the hell that damn thing is` was making pizzas at Dominos, I would probably choose a different pizza place.
Somebody please explain these commercials to me. My brother says that Bad Andy is only visible when the Dominos employees take a hit of LSD or eat some of their special shrooms. I’m starting to believe him, cause if I ever saw this Bad Andy I sure as hell better be frying.
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### Author:  [@andyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andyman)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/2 "2000-09-27T20:13:42Z")
GACK! I HATE those commercials. What’s the point? Jeez, just go back to the Avoid the Noid if you’re looking for a gimic! Also, my co-workers have started calling me Bad Andy now. Sheesh.
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### Author:  [@Aglarond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aglarond)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/3 "2000-09-27T20:58:54Z")
I’m not sure how they’re supposed to sell pizzas, but there’s something I find oddly amusing about them. I honestly have no idea why, but making a steam room using those heater things just seemed funny to me. 🙂 It doesn’t make me want to buy their pizza, though.
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### Author:  [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/4 "2000-09-27T21:02:32Z")
Pappa John’s adds “We use only the freshest ingredients”
Dominos adds “we have a little stuffed bear with a mental defect running around and possibly damaging your pizza”
Who do YOU suppose is winning the pizza wars?
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### Author:  [@MamaHen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MamaHen)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/5 "2000-09-27T21:11:59Z")
Thank you so much!!! I was starting to think I was the only one in the world who didn’t like this commercial. My husband loves them and laughs every time he sees them. I am not really surprised he’s one of the types you have to explain jokes to. So imagine my shock when I had to ask him to explain this “joke”. He said it’s simple, they got this little guy messing things up but they still manage to make good pizza. How he got that I’ll never know and I still don’t really see it, to me it’s just stupid. I throw my vote in to have Bad Andy thrown in the pizza oven and not brought out til he’s nice and crisp!
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### Author:  [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/6 "2000-09-27T21:14:26Z")
They’ve ignored the cardinal rule of advertising: an effective commercial isn’t one that is funny, or thought-provoking, or even memorable (with the exception of sheer brand-building campaigns)… an effective commercial is one that _ **motivates the customer to take the desired action** _ (whether that action is “buy pizza,” or “test-drive a Chevy Behemoth SUV,” or whatever.
The ad agency lost sight of their purpose, which is to sell pizza (in this case by promoting their special bags that keep the pizza hot — which in Domino’s case means you get the taste treat of HOT cardboard under glop), and got side-tracked on the relatively unimportant goal of creating cute commercials. Shame on them.
–Cheffie, who writes for the Radio ad sales biz
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/7 "2000-09-27T21:26:55Z")
I never liked their pizza and I hate their stooooopid commercials. I figgered they were going for the kid consumer: “Mommy, Mommy, let’s buy some Bad Andy pizza!”
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### Author:  [@Dark\_Lord\_Davidson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Lord_Davidson)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/8 "2000-09-27T21:32:21Z")
I hope you all realize that Andy is just an excuse to exercise their communistic undertones? If you don’t see them, you will soon enough.
They’ll get you, be it Mao, or be it later…
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### Author:  [@ren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ren)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/9 "2000-09-27T21:47:12Z")
> [@](#):
>
> They’ve ignored the cardinal rule of advertising: an effective commercial isn’t one that is funny, or thought-provoking, or even memorable (with the exception of sheer brand-building campaigns)… an effective commercial is one that motivates the customer to take the desired action (whether that action is “buy pizza,” or “test-drive a Chevy Behemoth SUV,” or whatever.
OK, but as an ad guy you ought to know that it’s not always as simple as making a case for the product. There is such a thing as creating a brand identity that people identify with, so they buy your product regardless of its merits. So a commercial might be trying to exhibit a form of humor that its target audience identifies with, and not really hawk the product.
I don’t think the commercial’s really that funny but that doesn’t mean it’s ineffective advertising. The question is, does the target audience identify with it?
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### Author:  [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/10 "2000-09-27T22:28:20Z")
And Just what the hell is he?
an employee, an hallucination,
that guy in the shower’s pet, room mate, lover?
the governor’s nephew (nod to green mile)
And just what does he represent?
gluttony, sloth, covetness have been covered.
What’s next pride, envy, anger,lust?
Is it my imagination or is he working his way though the seven cardinal sins? Even scarier, what in the hell does any of this have to do with lousy pizza?
Bad Andy= Terrible allegory
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### Author:  [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/11 "2000-09-27T22:38:29Z")
I originally wrote this in another topic on the IMHO forum, but it obviously belongs here.
Let me begin by saying that I love the
little ne’er-do-well. Bad Andy wonderfully portrays the
shadow within us all, the dark side of the psyche, that
which we carefully hide away so as to not be thought of
as less than a team player, nay, less than a useful
component of society itself. By using the anthropomorphic
form of a puppet, we are able to examine and accept this
shadowy characteristic, and to laugh with gentle
compassion in recognition of that which we own, yet
rarely claim. Along with this masterful portrayal of
healing integration, Domino’s has also alluded subtly to
that which is the very foundation of our society, i.e.:
the degree to which we are of use is indeed, in the end,
the sum of what we are. Though never overtly stated, it’s
obvious upon examination that Bad Andy lives at the
Domino store, and by extension we may infer that, as one
employee lives there, so must all of the employees.
Working as a team for the satisfaction and satiation of
the desires of society as a whole. A veritable family of
usefullness. And as is portrayed so wonderfully by the
Bad (not so bad after all) Andy, all families have their
own black sheep, their own “Bad Andys”. And yet
we love them still, for they are a part of us. I’ve no
doubt that, decades in the future, Domino’s will be held
up in reverence by sociologists and philosophers alike as
the company which dared to show a vision of a more
complete society, a more cohesive world, in which all
that we are is not only accepted, but embraced. A world
in which we look inwards, not to become more
self-absorbed, but rather to hear the voice of connection
to all of existence, and to turn our eyes outwards in the
interest of doing the very most we can for others. Good
Andy, Good Pizza. Indeed.
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### Author:  [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/12 "2000-09-27T22:39:33Z")
Actually, the cardinal rule of thumb is simply to have the ad associated with your product. People who think about your product are more likely to buy it.
The fact that we all know this is a Dominos ad - and, in fact, someone contrasted it with a competitor’s commercial - says that the ads are working.
That said, this is the one bone of contention between Drain Bead and myself. In an otherwise harmonious and perfect union, she insists these commercials are adorable, cute and acts all little-girly whenever the commercials comes on, and pleads for the da6y when she might be able to purchase an Andy doll.
Whereas I see them as pointless excersises in faux-cuteness and I really don’t see what is so cute about Andy or his silly shenanigans. In fact, much like the OP, I actively loathe these commercials, and find them lacking in humor, message, and even the “cuteness” which Drainy seems to think is present.
I can only hope that, since much of this thread agrees that Bad Andy is more like Bad Idea, Drain Bead sees this thread and realizes the error of her ways.
* * *
Yer pal,
Satan - Commissioner, [The Teeming Minions](http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/full/show?lid=39428&page=leaguehome)
\*I HAVE BEEN SMOKE-FREE FOR:
Five months, two weeks, four days, 20 hours, 42 minutes and 54 seconds.
6874 cigarettes not smoked, saving $859.31.
Extra life with Drain Bead: 3 weeks, 2 days, 20 hours, 50 minutes.
\***“I’m a big Genesis fan.”-David B. _(Amen, brother!)_** \*\*
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/13 "2000-09-27T22:49:06Z")
“170 degrees. THAT’S hot.”
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### Author:  [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/14 "2000-09-27T23:25:45Z")
Let’s make three things perfectly clear.
[li]Domino’s pizza is melted crayons on cardboard.[/li]
[li]Domino’s is an anti-choice organization.[/li]
[li]I don’t care if I was starving and Andy looked like Marylin Monroe, I still wouldn’t watch/buy/eat their jive ass crappy product just out of sheer principle.[/li]If you want real food, click [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=39219).
Any questions?
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### Author:  [@Aglarond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aglarond)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2000, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/15 "2000-09-27T23:32:11Z")
I personally don’t care for their pizza, so the ads don’t affect me. Nor do their politics. However, I’ve noticed a couple of Commie/anti-choice comments associated with them in this thread. Is there something I’ve missed. Not trying to start an attack here, just genuinely curious.
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### Author:  [@Plavacek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plavacek)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/16 "2000-09-28T00:26:43Z")
Can we move this to Flameville? P-L-E-A-S-E? I’m dying to cut loose about this, but I just can’t do it here. I mean, how can you possibly flame in the same forum that has the SD Pillow Fight?
I can say this, though. Does anyone out there remember Domino’s last cartoon character, the Noid? It was the same @@(#&@ idea, a little character guy doing bad shtuff to Domino's, with the tag line "Avoid the Noid". As I recall, they even made a video game about the #)\*@&#\*($&.
Apparently, not enough people got fired when that campaign sank like a rock, so they’re doing it again.
::sighs deeply::
::kills his TV::
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### Author:  [@poohpah\_chalupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poohpah_chalupa)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/17 "2000-09-28T00:37:51Z")
I’m guessing here, but don’t these commercials imply that if there’s something wrong with your food, the Domino’s people can blame Bad Andy?
example:
Q: “Hey, I placed an order an hour and a half ago, where is it?”
A: “Uhh…_Andy_ must’ve lost it…”
Q: “Excuse me, but this pizza tastes like s#it…”
A: “Damn that Bad Andy…”
…and, well, as far as I’m concerned, this explains to me why Domino’s has tasted like s#it all along…
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### Author:  [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/18 "2000-09-28T00:52:10Z")
That was moderately hilarious, Purd Wurfect 🙂
I like Domino’s Pizza, but I’m a Philistine in these things. But the commercials are peculiar at best.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/19 "2000-09-28T01:45:15Z")
Bad Pizza, Dumb commercials.
Oh, I posted once before that, according to the Domino’s FAQ, they have never gotten into the “Anti-choice, Anti-Life” debate. Seems that didn’t sink in.
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### Author:  [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/20 "2000-09-28T02:30:21Z")
Every time I see the Bad Andy commercial I just want to take a .22 rifle and shoot the little whatever Andy is. Several times.
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