Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

Why the Domino’s Pizza mascot ‘the Noid’ vanished

After a public relations disaster, a mainstay of Domino's ads disappears. Zachary Crockett shares the strange story.

In the late 1980s, the Noid was pizza’s worst enemy. He made pies arrive cold, late or crushed, with cheese stuck to the top of the box – at least that’s what Domino’s ads would have you believe.

Domino’s could “avoid the Noid,” delivering hot, fresh pizzas in 30 minutes or less. The Noid ads were a huge success, spawning toys and even a video game. 

But it all came crashing down in 1989, when the Noid suffered what may be the worst PR disaster in history. Zachary Crockett has written about the Noid for Priceonomics, and he tells us the strange, sad story.


Six brand mascots potentially as strange and popular as the Noid

Mac Tonight

Mr. Six

Slimer

The mascot for Hi-C’s popular “Ecto Cooler” until 2001, 17 years after the release of “Ghostbusters.”

Bob the Baby

Not to be confused with the E-Trade baby, who didn’t get his own show on CBS.

Cavemen

These guys also inspired a short-lived TV series, starring a young Nick Kroll.

The King

This plastic-faced mascot was polarizing, but popular enough to appear in several video games.

Related Topics