Yeah, there was a hint of “making lemonade out of lemons” in the ad, but the shortage was a major problem that was occurring at possibly the worst possible moment-- the height of the no-carb craze, and the one company whose name was linked to it couldn’t get product out of the doors-- and the ad was pretty blunt regarding the failures of the company to meet expectations. Not a “we didn’t expect to be this popular!” ad so much as a “we haven’t met our commitment to our retailers and customers” ad.
Unilever is moronic for not having followed the same “crisis management” tactic regarding the recall of Slim Fast drinks that is keeping their products off of shelves right now.
I wish I could remember the name of the company but around 25 years ago, a small winery that had been bought out by a large conglomerate and then split off and became independent again ran an ad admitting that the quality of their wine had become mediocre during the time of mega-corporate ownership and that now the company was back on its own, it would return its former high quality.
I seem to recall that Schlitz, in a desperate attempt to get back its rapidly declining market share, ran a commercial emphasizing the fact that they had gone back to the original “classic” brew. However by that point, the damage had been done.
Also, Jack in the Box–which had gone through a disastrous attempt to remake themselves by getting rid of the clown logo, renaming itself “Monterey Jack’s”, and dumping fast food from its menu in favor of more yuppified fare–began its present ad campaign with what turned out to be controversial commercial featuring returning-company president “Jack” blowing up the offices of the corporate pinheads responsible for the misbegotten makeover.
I recall a Jack’s hamburger ad a few years where “Jack” basically blew up the boardroom or something like that and regained control of the franchise, promising that things would now get better.
Not as skeezy as I’m making it sound. Some of those ads were sorta funny.
I love the new Domino’s campaign. The honesty is refreshing, and it definitely got me to order Dominos’s for the first time in years (when I order chain pizza, it’s usually Papa John’s). Domino’s is now MUCH better-- I’ll certainly order it again.
BTW, I’m a pizza snob, grew up in Chicago with real pizza, and even though I’m now in the DC area, to this day I love a lot of local pizza places. But I still order chain pizza every now and then, simply because you get what you order, and there’s comfort in consistency.
Oh, and to the person who brought up the Burger King fries: I loved it when they changed their recipe to the new fries. The new fries are disgustingly artificial, evil little things, but they’re the french fry equivalent to Pringles: terribly fake, but I can’t stop eating them.
Could be! We’re in a DC suburb where Papa John’s gives Domino’s some pretty stuff competition. There’s also a Pizza Hut that delivers. And some smaller chains such as Pizza Boli which don’t (to my knowledge) deliver. Bottom line is, folks have a lot of alternatives to Domino’s hereabouts.
Best 'za though is a tossup between Z-Pizza (small chain) or Johnny’s (which may only have the one location, near our house).
They brought back the old (reconstructed) recipe along with the ad campaign you’re thinking about in 2008. The new (old) recipe isn’t bad, not totally to my taste but I have friends who like it. According to Wiki the recipe change happened in the 70’s.
Actually, this was long (about 20 or so years ago) before the current relaunch. I haven’t tried the “new old” brew yet but it’s quite apparent the they’re aiming for the same ironic hipster market responsible for the successful revival of Pabst. In any case, most of these people are too young to remember when Schlitz was a dominant brand and how cutting corners with its formula led to its decline. It’s a completely new beer to them.
I love “Jack”. Their ad campaign with the funny-headed president is one reason why I prefer Jack in the Box to any other fast food burger place. Something about that Jack is just so personable that I feel good buying from him. Ronald McDonald always scared me because I’m afraid of clowns. And the Burger King’s King freaks me out
And I do like the new Domino’s commercials. I never considered them terrible, just a distant third to Pizza Hut and Papa John’s. I haven’t had a Domino’s in years but I think I will get one this week.
I understand the attitude. I don’t like local places, they do seem to be for local people. Bit of a threatening feeling popping in for something to eat.
It drove me mad on holidays when I was a kid when our parents brought us into a place like that for something to eat. I still wouldn’t go in today unless I’d walked past the place a few times and had a few people as an escort of sorts.
Growing up, I would rather be absent from class than to walk in late. I hated how when you walk in late, everybody stares at you. As if you people were never late!!!
I’ve got some anxiety going into a new restaurant I’ve never been in unless it’s a chain store. Something about the chain is comforting, but when it’s a local place, it just feels like you’re going to mess up ordering or something. Then everyone’s going to stare at you. Then I wet my pants. Well no, but that’s what it feels like :eek:
The Burger King “nerd” campaign, it seemed to say you were anti social and useless if you liked to eat there. It wasn’t done on purpose, in fact I have no idea what they were thinking would attract diners from that ad. One of the worst ever.
Microsofts stupid Bill Gates ads just a couple years back were equally stupid and would seem to show the leader real dumb “chewy computers”, recall that? Again it wasn’t on purpose but just indicated their leader was in fact real dumb, like Burger King did.
Hipsters crack me up. I was ordering a pitcher of New Glarus Spotted Cow, which is a tasty beer, and the hipster sitting at the the bar complimented me on my choice. She said after listening to everyone ordering crap beer like Miller and Miller Lite it was nice to see someone ordring a good beer. (her words, not mine)
Well, Domino’s is all over the place in Chicago, which is known for its pizza. Everyone I know has a favorite place, or maybe two, that they go to all the time. That makes it pretty tough for a chain that is not known for its quality product. There is a Domino’s a mile from my house but I have not had their pizza in 20 years and the new campaign won’t change my mind. It’s probably fine, but if it’s not the best, why bother?
