Vowing to change their pizza’s reputation, Domino’s has “reinvented” their product, changing everything from the crust to the sauce to the cheese.  It’s a risky move to publicly admit your shortcomings, even when backed by a valiant promise to do better.  On one hand, the publicity has been good: the Internet is abuzz about Domino’s, and the company even earned itself an “Alpha Dog of the Week” shout-out on the Colbert Report, with Stephen Colbert proclaiming, “Is that pizza or did an angel just give birth in my mouth.”

My friend Vikram made a smart observation on his blog Twenty Dollars as to why this campaign will work:

There are four kinds of people: those who don’t know or care about Domino’s; those who don’t like Domino’s and don’t eat there; those who are indifferent to Domino’s but sometimes eat there anyway; and those who love nothing better than Domino’s Pizza.  The ads are generating enough buzz to pique the interest of some members of the first group, and the second and third groups might be willing to give Domino’s another chance, especially with a money back guarantee.

Ironically, it’s the fourth group—the loyal customers—that Domino’s really has to worry about… but provided that Domino’s core customers embrace the new pizza, the strategy strikes me as a good and creative one.

I certainly agree that the marketing campaign will pique the interest of groups 1, 2 and 3.  But here is where Domino’s campaign may backfire.  The campaign, in proclaiming the inferiority of its previous pizza and the vast improvement of its new pizza, has set high expectations for this new pizza.  Domino’s may see a surge in first-time customers, but is the pizza good enough to bring them back?

Joel, who claimed to have worked under a Domino’s franchisee, astutely pointed out that it’s not necessarily the recipe that Domino’s needs to worry about but rather the execution.  A perfect pizza created under optimal conditions in a test lab will not always turn out that way when being prepared by teenagers making $8 an hour.

As for me, I applaud Domino’s efforts, initiative and pure cojones, but I have my doubts.  The new pizza supposedly has a garlic butter crust, bolder sauce and “It’s cheese!!”  According to their press release, the cheese is now “100% real mozzarella and flavored with just a hint of provolone.”  I suppose for $5.99 for a medium two-topping pizza, asking for real provolone might be unrealistic.  But artificial flavoring is just unnecessary.

Which also begs the question: if it’s “real” cheese now, what the hell was it before?