Domino’s Pizza took its mischievous mascot The Noid off the air in 1988, but the chain is bringing him back this week to celebrate his 25th birthday. Starting today through August 15, Domino’s will give away a free pizza in the form of a $10 gift card every minute to the top scorers of its Facebook arcade game, “The Noid’s Super Pizza Shootout.”
In order to play the game and be eligible for the gift card, customers must “like” Domino’s on Facebook.
The 9,436-unit chain is mixing in nostalgia from the Noid’s heyday by giving the Facebook game an 8-bit look reminiscent of the “Avoid the Noid” computer game for the Commodore 64 and the “Yo! Noid” game for Nintendo consoles.
The only other foodservice mascot to get the video game treatment recently was Burger King’s The King, who starred in three video games for Xbox in 2006: “Big Bumpin’,” “Sneak King” and “PocketBike Racer.”
The Noid first appeared in Domino’s commercials in 1986 and remains the chain’s most recognizable mascot, although the Mad Dr. Cravin, Bad Andy and Fudgems all tried to claim the mantle over the years. A Facebook group called “We Love FUDGEMS!!” formed by students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, grew to 224 members who appreciated the walking-brownie mascot created in 2006 to advertise Domino’s Oven Baked Brownie Squares.
Domino’s spokeswoman Jen Hug said The Noid would not make another appearance on TV.
“This is purely a weeklong Facebook and social-media promotion,” Hug said. “There are no plans to bring The Noid back in any commercials.”
Domino’s has more than 3.3 million Facebook likes.
The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based brand operates or franchises locations in the United States and 70 countries.
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @Mark_from_NRN
