Italiano
There are millions of stories and anecdotes related to pizza.
Some comical, some tragic. And there is one in particular that is both.
What, Where and When
USA, mid-80s.
In those years Domino’s dominated (pun intended) the pizza delivery market in the USA.
They had just invented what was for years the controversial “30 minutes or free” policy. This compelled them to attend various courts throughout the United States, having their drivers being sued for road accidents (including fatal ones), and thousands of traffic violations, committed under pressure of delivering pizzas within the established time.
Something was therefore needed to “clean up” their image.
Because it certainly wasn’t the delivery boys’ fault.
The problem was the various adversities encountered on the way from the shop to the customer’s home.
So a villain was invented: The Noid.
A creature similar to a troll, dressed in red and with long rabbit ears, who enjoyed slowing down and creating the most varied setbacks to prevent the poor drivers from delivering the pizza on time.
Punctured tyres, crushed pizza boxes, hidden keys…
In short, according to its inventors: “the physical manifestation of all the challenges inherent in getting a pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less”.
For some reason (marketing works in an inscrutable way) the character had a great impact on the public.
The Noid was indeed an antagonist, but a clumsy and, ultimately, a likeable one.
So funny that shortly thereafter he would also end up in a cartoon and video games.
“Avoid the Noid” had become such a playful slogan that it crossed the boundaries of mere pizza advertising, to the point of becoming a catchphrase also used in other contexts.
Who and Why
Until one day in January 1989, when Mr. Noid got really pissed off.
Kenneth Lamar Noid, to be precise. A young 22-year-old afflicted by mental disorders.
The latter, convinced that “The Noid” had been created specifically to make fun of him, decided to take revenge by entering a Domino’s in Atlanta (Georgia) and taking two employees hostage at gunpoint.
Kenneth initially asked for $100,000 and a white limousine to escape. Later, he narrowed his request to a book (The Widow’s Son, a novel about the “Illuminati“).
Struck by a sudden attack of hunger, Noid (the human one) asked the employees to prepare him a pizza.
While he ate it, the two employees ran away and the crisis ended with the arrest of the perpetrator.
Kenneth was ultimately found not guilty of the crimes by reason of insanity.
Domino’s, however, continued to use “The Noid” for its advertisements.
Until, in 1995, consumed by anger, paranoia, and who knows what other dark thoughts, poor Kenneth decided to take his own life. Still convinced to the very end that Domino’s was making fun of him.
It was at that point that the Pizza giant decided that it was better to avoid continuing any further, and finally sent “The Noid” into retirement.
Anyhoo… If you work in catering or hospitality industry, and you are interested in my copywriting and/or content writing services, just DM
