Domino's Pizza Runs Unfiltered Customer Comments on Times Square Billboard

In an effort that may fall somewhere between brave and foolhardy, Domino’s is running an electronic ticker in Times Square displaying in real-time what consumers really think of the brand.

The campaign, which runs from Monday until August 23 will include customer comments — good, bad or neutral — on a 4,630 square-foot billboard. The comments, which are filtered for bad language and appropriateness, but not for sentiment, are culled from Domino’s Tracker, which lets you follow your order. Consumers whose comments are chosen will get a link to a video clip of their comment as it ran on the billboard.

The billboard coincides with a new TV campaign, featuring New York-based Domino’s store managers Jess Hreniuk and Jose Castillo, that shows the two reacting to seeing the comments in Times Square.

The “come what may” approach follows an image turnaround for Domino’s. In April 2009, the brand was caught flat-footed after a YouTube video surfaced showing rogue employees doing disgusting things with the pizza. The incident prompted a YouTube apology by company CEO Patrick Doyle.

Though the experience might cause some brands to shy away from social media, Domino’s did the opposite. In December, the brand and agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky introduced a new campaign called “Pizza Turnaround,” which showed real focus groups describing the pizza’s “cardboard crust” and likening the sauce to ketchup. In the ad, Doyle vowed to do better and introduce a new version of the pizza.

The campaign was a hit, increasing sales by double-digits in the first quarter it ran. Since then, Domino’s has continued to strive for transparency by vowing to use un-retouched pictures of its pizzas in its ads.