# 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:** 3
### Author:  [@DJScherr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJScherr)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/41 "2000-09-28T20:33:23Z")
Skythread
the song is called flat beat by Mr. Oizo I was able to download it off Scour Exchange after seeing it on MTV2… Great video
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### Author:  [@Estrella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estrella)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/42 "2000-09-28T21:17:28Z")
Rad! After clicking on the [adcritic.com](http://adcritic.com) link, (thanks Aglarond) I was able to find information about that Levi’s song. Downloaded it and I’m listening to it now, smirking as I think of Flat Eric grooving to it. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/43 "2000-09-28T23:20:04Z")
Re: Bad Andy
I hate to admit it, butI kinda like the little guy. Doesn’t make me want to order from Domino’s, but makes me watch the ad. What I really wonder is how this ad got past the marketing division. I figure it must have been some kind of Putney Swope thing. “Hmmm, all these campaigns suck, I’d better vote for that Bad Andy one, nobody else will, and that way I won’t take the hit when the others fail.”
But I do have to take issue with those that despise the AFLAC duck. I LOVE these spots. I don’t know what AFLAC is, I don’t think I need supplemenetal insurance, but I just love the duck. Sheer genius.
pcubed
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2000, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/44 "2000-09-28T23:57:39Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chef Troy \*
> \*\*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 \*\*
Oh my god, Cheffie, you are so behind the times! An effective commercial is one that gets noticed, period. All it has to do is stick in your mind (without being too terribly disturbing, depending on your demo). This may not always have been true, but in the age of Just Do It, it’s the reigning paradigm. You’re harking back to like the fifties, dood, catch up!
(Note: I don’t necessarily “approve” of this development, but at least I’m aware of it.)
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### Author:  [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/45 "2000-09-29T00:16:34Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Let’s make three things perfectly clear.
> Domino’s pizza is melted crayons on cardboard.
> Domino’s is an anti-choice organization.
> 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.
> If you want real food, click here. [Hyperlink omitted in this posting]
> Any questions?
Yeah, I have a few.
1. Why do you use Nixon’s quote (“perfectly clear”?)
2. “Melted crayons on cardboard…” My, my; such strange things you’ve eaten! 😃
(FYI, I have eaten Domino’s Pizza for more than 20 years and it doesn’t taste anything like that.)
3. What does “anti-choice” mean as you use it here?
4. And what is your sheer principle? It better not be transparent!
5. I clicked on your hyperlink. Golly, those are elaborate recipes; haven’t you sensed that one postitive point of the fast-food industry is that in an urbanized modern world most people don’t have the _time_ to learn those recipes, let alone set things up to make the dishes, do the mixing, stirring, cooking, etc., and serve them? And what about _affording_ the ingredients, utensils, and cookbook?
That said, I agree with the Dopers who consider Bad Andy–an indolent slob like William Shatner on _Third Rock from the Sun_–to be a annoyance and a nuisance.
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### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/46 "2000-09-29T00:22:43Z")
“Anti-choice” means that a chunk of dominoes’ change goes to its founder What’s His Name, who gives big chunks of money to anti-choice groups.
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### Author:  [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/47 "2000-09-29T14:03:09Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by pcubed \*
> \*\*But I do have to take issue with those that despise the AFLAC duck. I LOVE these spots. I don’t know what AFLAC is, I don’t think I need supplemenetal insurance, but I just love the duck. Sheer genius.
>
> pcubed \*\*
Yeah, but have you seen the one where the duck is in bed with the couple who just got done making love? WTF???
His little feet are sticking up right between the couple. Did they just finish a menage a quack?
That’s too sick and perverted even for me 😃
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### Author:  [@Sledman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sledman)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/48 "2000-09-29T15:01:43Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DuhMan \*
> \*\*Just a strange pizza phenominon I thought I would mention here. Why is it that pizza from dominos or any other chain tastes different in different parts of the country. I live in upstate ny… and I would contend to say that the best pizza in the country is in NY, no questions about that. But when I travel, and eat from dominos in texas or something… the pizza tastes totally different, and must worse for that matter. Anyone out there got an explanation for this? \*\*
As I understand it with certain items(ie pizza and spaghetti sauce) they are made differently for the different “tastes” of different regions of the country (ie. New Yorkers get things a little spicier. Midwesterners get things a little more bland)
If you can see the sauce on pizza it needs more cheese!!
And as far as the whole Bad Andy campaign… I think a .22 was mentioned earlier… I would cast my vote for a sawed-off 12 gauge side by side. Give him and the ad staff both triggers at once!
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### Author:  [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/49 "2000-09-29T15:33:32Z")
I HATE BAD ANDY!!! Make it go away ☹
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### Author:  [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/50 "2000-09-29T18:21:53Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by lissener \*
> \*\*Oh my god, Cheffie, you are so behind the times! An effective commercial is one that gets noticed, period. All it has to do is stick in your mind (without being too terribly disturbing, depending on your demo). This may not always have been true, but in the age of Just Do It, it’s the reigning paradigm. You’re harking back to like the fifties, dood, catch up!
>
> (Note: I don’t necessarily “approve” of this development, but at least I’m aware of it.) \*\*
Just because few people follow the cardinal rule of advertising anymore doesn’t mean it isn’t a good rule. The “Just do it” campaign you mention was one of the brand-awareness building campaigns that I noted were excluded from the rule. I suspect the reason you’ve gotten the impression that an effective commercial is one that gets noticed is that dot-com ads are everywhere…and brand awareness is all such companies usually are shooting for.
My whole point is that for a commercial to be effective, it has to achieve its purpose. (a truism, I know, but surprisingly few commercials achieve this.) If the goal of the campaign is specifically to sell pizza, and the end result of the campaign is to cause people to remember a sociopathic muppet - mostly unfavorably - _then that commercial was not successful._ Remember the Super Bowl ad from some dot-com a couple of years ago that featured a hamster being shot out of a cannon? Probably you do. Remember who the dot-com was, or what they do? I bet you don’t. That ad, while memorable, failed in its attempt to build brand awareness for the client – and it was a VERY expensive failure at Super Bowl ad rates. Shame on that agency. Judging from the number of people in this thread who either have not been persuaded to try Domino’s, or who have actively declared their intention to stay the hell away _because_ of the ads, I’d say this campaign is a failure.
In the case of the “bad andy” ads that have run so far, the point seems to be to promotethe “hot bags” they carry the pizza in. But I didn’t figure this out until the third ad, because they didn’t SAY anything about the bags until then. If I spent an HOUR I bet I could come up with a clever ad that actually focused on the bags themselves. Again, shame on the ad guys who came up with this crap. It doesn’t do what it is supposed to do.
Agencies and clients alike have bought into the fallacy that a good commercial is a “cool” commercial when they should be focusing on results.
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### Author:  [@Sledman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sledman)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/51 "2000-09-29T18:59:52Z")
Chef Troy
[Outpost.com](http://Outpost.com)
But you are right about the way commercials should be made. Doesn’t do a hell of a lot of good if I watch it and can’t remember the product.
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### Author:  [@Sledman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sledman)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/52 "2000-09-29T19:07:03Z")
One caveat though too.
And off the top I am not defending the Bad Andy commercials. THEY SUCK.
Just because you or I do not like a commercial doesn’t mean it is a failure. Often it means we weren’t the target market for said commercial.
Somewhere along the way a large group of students graduated with their advertising degrees without being made aware of or being to pompous in their abilities to realize that you need to have a target market. There really is no such thing as Mass Advertising.
But I really loved that [Outpost.com](http://Outpost.com) commercial.
The ‘Send complaints to:’ line at the end was a nice touch.
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### Author:  [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/53 "2000-09-29T19:08:47Z")
Ok, here’s my 2 cents. Bad Andy is a terrible role model for the youth of today. First of all he shows bad judgement when he overloads the electrical outlet with all those hot packs, and then to make matters worse in another scene it shows him pouring water over the packs so that he can get more steam in his sauna, and any moron knows that water and electricity are not a healthy combination. I don’t like Andy, he IS bad, Andy should be tarred and feathered, unstuffed and deported to where ever he came from. Please Domino’s no more Bad Andy commercials and fire the guy whose idea this was, and the guy who ok’ed it and while your at it hire someone who can bring your company some new and bright idea’s.I didn’t know felt like this until i started typing, but now I feel better.
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### Author:  [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/54 "2000-09-29T19:21:37Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Sledman \*
> \*\*Chef Troy
>
> [Outpost.com](http://Outpost.com)
>
> But you are right about the way commercials should be made. Doesn’t do a hell of a lot of good if I watch it and can’t remember the product. \*\*
I should have known some smartass would ruin my point by remembering the name of the dot-com.
Refresh my memory though…what do they do? And no fair looking it up.
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### Author:  [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/55 "2000-09-29T19:23:07Z")
Oops…I forgot to put a smiley in that post and it looks like I’m angry. That was said winkingly, Sledman.
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### Author:  [@Aglarond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aglarond)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/56 "2000-09-29T19:56:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chef Troy \*
> \*\*I should have known some smartass would ruin my point by remembering the name of the dot-com.
>
> Refresh my memory though…what do they do? And no fair looking it up. \*\*
They sell computer stuff. I started going there after seeing their commercial where the wolves go after the marching band. Everybody at work loved it, but we’re all computer geeks anyway.
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### Author:  [@Sledman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sledman)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2000, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/57 "2000-09-29T21:05:47Z")
Chef Troy
Although I was beaten to the punch. I had no idea what they actually did. But I knew the name…file that with all the other insignificant stuff I know.
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### Author:  [@Vivamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vivamus)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2000, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/58 "2000-10-09T16:11:42Z")
Well, mercifully, we don’t HAVE any Domino’s out here, so we’re not subjected to their commercials, but after having taken a cursory look at their ‘Outlet Hog’ offering over at AdCritic, the first thing I thought of was ‘Flat Eric’. I take it he was not such a HUGE phenomenon in the US as in Europe? In his heyday, there was a glut of articles such as the following (wherein Flat Eric has restored the writer’s faith in pop culture, no less):
[http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3833981,00.html](http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3833981,00.html)
Seems a pretty cynical attempt to ride that wave, from where I’m standing.
BUT- Domino’s might want to note that we’ve all forgotten Flat Eric by now. Unfortunately, he seems left a legacy of imitators, according to this blurb:
[http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3980484,00.html](http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3980484,00.html)
And from the above article (really just a blurb on the ‘Style’ pages), we have the rationale for such a campaign:
> [@](#):
>
> Flat Eric fronted what was arguably one of Levi’s most successful advertising campaigns: endlessly discussed and analysed, he caught the imagination of pundits and punters alike. At a time when advertising agencies are struggling to find ways of appealing to the fickle youth market, puppets make perfect sense: genderless and mute, they’re less likely to rub anyone up the wrong way. Its a furry old world, indeed.
Funny, though…Usually we pick up pop culture trends from the U.S., not the other way around…
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### Author:  [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2000, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/59 "2000-10-09T16:22:33Z")
Bad Andy is an orangutan. The appearance and the actions are fitting, but who wants a monkey selling them pizza?
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### Author:  [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2000, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dominos-bad-andy-commercials/34800/60 "2000-10-09T16:58:33Z")
I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I had a Dominoes Pizza just the other day and it was delicious. It had the works: Pepperoni, mushrooms, and Bad Andy Sausage.
The Bad Andy Sausage was delicious. A little spicy, but with a lot of Character. I understand that they have a Bad Andy Farm out in the mid-West somewhere where they breed the saucy little fellows for their meat. Of course one Bad Andy only yields about 6 ounces of good meat so they have to kill one Bad Andy for each Sausage Pizza.
Bad Andy. Good Pizza.
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