Domino’s was the fast-food pizza chain that used the advertising character The Noid. The mischievous, rabbit-like figure appeared in Domino’s commercials beginning in 1986, where he tried to ruin pizzas before they could be delivered. The campaign’s slogan urged customers to “Avoid the Noid.”
The character was created by advertising agency Group 243, which hired Will Vinton Studios to produce clay-animated commercials. The Noid wore a tight red suit and was portrayed as the personification of every problem that could spoil a pizza, including heat loss and delayed delivery. The campaign helped Domino’s stand out during the highly competitive 1980s pizza-delivery market.
The Noid is also remembered because of a bizarre 1989 incident in Georgia. A man named Kenneth Lamar Noid, who believed the character mocked him, held two Domino’s employees hostage. The hostages escaped while he ate pizza, and he was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. Although the campaign faded afterward, Domino’s revived The Noid in several promotions and games decades later.