• by Teresa Buyikian , August 19, 2024

The world’s ultimate judge has traded talent for pizza. Domino’s today announced a partnership with TV personality, record executive and judge of all things Simon Cowell, most famous for his scathing critiques of aspiring stars on “American Idol,” for its latest marketing effort.

The :30 spot, seen here, depicts the salty Cowell sitting inside the restaurant as a group of nervous Domino’s employees stand before him awaiting to present their pizzas. “Impress me,” he demands of the group, which we learn are the Domino’s Quality Captains. Cowell serves as leader, of course. He proceeds to skewer each one,

“Distribution of toppings? Terrible. Pathetic. I hate it,” Cowell says. Then a voiceover explains that “Domino’s holds your pizza to a higher standard.” The spot ends with Cowell finally giving a perfect pie an enthusiastic “Yes!” as the team erupts in glee.

“Domino's has a longstanding history of making sure each pizza is delicious,” said Kate Trumbull, Domino's senior vice president/chief brand officer in the announcement. “But now, we're taking operational excellence to the next level."

It’s an interesting strategy, given the all the recent consumer backlash on portion size at Chipotle and overall quality and price at Taco Bell and many QSR chains.

"We're not just saying we care about quality -- we're showcasing it through our products and the operational enhancements we've made over the years," added Frank Garrido, Domino's executive vice president/chief restaurant officer. "Domino's franchisees and their store team members are trained and focused on ensuring customers' orders meet their expectations. Every order counts. That includes checking pizza toppings before they go in the oven, to confirming each order has all of its items – down to each dipping cup."

The new effort was created with agency WorkInProgress and begins running on TV, online and streaming today.