Whatever the reason, the Noid simply can't stand it anymore, and the pesky antihero has returned in Domino's new television ads, which begin airing today, trying to thwart the advanced technology of Nuro's R2 robot, a completely autonomous, occupantless on-road vehicle, out on a pizza delivery. Maybe it was the chaos of 2020 that gave the Noid the confidence to return, or possibly the fact that Domino's has continued to innovate around great pizza delivery with amazing technology. (NYSE: DPZ), the largest pizza company in the world based on global retail sales, has always had one nemesis: the Noid – an antihero that has been trying to prevent great pizza delivery since 1986. According to Domino’s statement:ĭomino's Pizza Inc.

Noid's return will include appearances in the “Crash Bandicoot” gaming series and Domino’s promotions of its driverless cars, which are meant to streamline deliveries. He received psychiatric care, but Noid died by suicide in 1995.ĭespite this history, the company seems eager to bring the Noid back. Noid was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, and theft by extortion, but a judge ruled he was not guilty of the charges by reason of insanity. The standoff lasted six hours after which Noid surrendered peacefully and the hostages escaped. When the police arrived he reportedly fired four warning shots into the ceiling. He felt that Domino’s owed him money for the name, according to one of the employees he took hostage.

Apparently, he thinks they’re aimed at him.″ The police engaged in a standoff with Noid who wanted $100,000 and an unidentified library book in return for the two hostages’ release.Īccording to The Washington Post, Noid also demanded a white limousine that could serve as a getaway car and insisted on talking to Domino’s owner directly. According to The Washington Post, in 1989 a gunman who shared the same name as the mascot, Kenneth Lamar Noid, attacked a Domino’s restaurant in an Atlanta suburb and took two employees hostage as a result of a misunderstanding.Īccording to a 1989 Associated Press report, a police officer said that Noid was ″having an ongoing feud in his mind with the owner of Domino’s Pizza about the ‘noid’ commercials. However, after 35 years of practice in avoiding the Noid, we're pretty confident we know how to defeat it.'īut the Noid was also associated with a more troubling real-life incident involving hostages and a gunman.

In a statement, Kate Trumbull, Domino’s vice president of advertising, described why the Noid returned: 'The Noid is Domino's oldest and most famous villain, and the pizza delivery testing we're doing with Nuro's autonomous vehicle is exactly the kind of technology innovation that could provoke the Noid to return.

Dominos pizza mascot