Photo: Domino’s
It seemed like a good idea on paper. That’s a phrase that’s been uttered by many bummed out people over the years. Many NFL coaches take a look at their roster and decide that “on paper” all of the pieces seem to fit in perfect unison…that is, until the first game when they are manhandled 47-3 (we’re looking at you Sean McDermott and Buffalo). But luckily for the NFL’s Bills, they can swap out a bad idea (Nathan Peterman) for a potentially good one (Josh Allen) before it’s too late. The same can’t be said for pizza brand Domino’s and the recent disastrous promotion it ran in Russia.
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The promotion was deemed “Domino’s Forever” and seemed like a fun way to get people to pay attention to the brand. Here’s what the contest boiled down to: any person willing to get a tattoo of the Domino’s logo would receive a certificate for 100 free pizzas every year for 100 years. That pretty much means that if you’re willing to get a tiny, meaningless pizza-themed tattoo, you can eat about two pizzas every week for the rest of your life. That is, unless you’re some kind of Highlander. In that case, your free pizza train will stop for good in a century, though by then, you’ll have had your fill of cheesy, saucy, pepperoni-covered pies.
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In the least surprising news ever, Domino’s had to end the promotion prematurely after more than 350 people had the iconic logo tattooed on their body. It’s almost as if Domino’s did no research whatsoever on tattoo culture. The days of stigma surrounding the art form are long gone and young people covered in tattoos are as commonplace as pepperoni on the aforementioned pizza.
In this age of social media, it was obvious very quickly that this promotion wasn’t going to work out well for the pizza chain. Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat were inundated with photos of Domino’s logo tattoos prominently displayed on arms, legs, and various other body parts. It only took five days for the company to put an end the contest, but by then, the damage was done. All in all, 381 people received certificates for free pizza before the promotion was cancelled. It might have seemed like a failure, but at least the company has almost 400 walking billboards now.
