Domino's Ill-Fated "Pasta Dude" Commercial

Domino’s Ill-Fated “Pasta Dude” Commercial

by Eick · April 30th, 2009 · 17 Comments

We’ve already written about Domino’s release of its new Bread Bowl Pasta. However, what many people might not realize is that these bread bowl pastas are a new spin on the “Pasta Perfecta” product line that Domino’s was testing out last fall. With the success of Pizza Hut’s Tuscani Pasta, it was clear Domino’s felt the need to enter the market with a pasta product of their own. They did, with a commercial featuring a character called “Pasta Dude,” a hip, rapping piece of penne.

All of the bread bowl pasta flavors being offered are the exact same flavors that were used when the Pasta Perfecta line was launched in the fall of 2008. With plenty of people talking about the new bread bowl pastas, why do so few people seem to remember the launch of Pasta Perfecta? And why is Domino’s re-branding their pasta offerings and adding in bread bowls barely 6 months later?

Part of it might have to do with the ill-fated “Pasta Dude” commercial that Domino’s initially selected to advertise the Pasta Perfecta product. The “Pasta Dude” commercial was pulled in certain markets shortly after it began airing. So why was it pulled?The Mo’Kelly Report suggests the reason is that:

Midway through it looks like he’s either smackin’ it up, flippin’ it and rubbin’ it down…or something else far more vulgar.

A user on Yahoo Answers seems to agree:

there is a piece in the original commercial where the Pasta dude makes a dance gesture like he has someone bent over and is slapping their behind

A commenter on Black Voices provides some confirmation of this:

They haven’t pulled it in my area, they play it like almost 7 times a day, they took out the scene where the little noodle was spanking the air, but that’s it.

Now obviously one blogger, a user on Yahoo Answers and a commenter on Black Voices aren’t the be all end all source of information for why the commercial was pulled, but it sheds some interesting light on the possible reasons. A lot of the original postings of the “Pasta Dude” commercial have been removed from YouTube, but you can still track down the videos in a couple places. Take a look for yourself and tell me what you think about the commercial.

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Tags: Advertising · Fast Food · Videos

17 responses so far ↓

1 Bear Silber // Apr 30, 2009 at 5:50 pm

Yeah……that’s creepy & weird….no wonder it was short lived. From the looks of it, they’re going about it better this time.
2 Cebca // Apr 30, 2009 at 6:28 pm

Uh . . . that is one freaking phallic pasta dude. Obscene gestures aside I mean . . . really? Is he going to shoot alfredo sauce from his hat?
3 Brian // Apr 30, 2009 at 7:07 pm

Yeah he does look a little……….cocky.

And he’s grabbing his crotch more often than a baseball player.
4 pam // May 3, 2009 at 6:37 pm

This commercial is so weird. Hating on the mascot like that. I don’t take his gestures as suggestive. They look more awkward and unnatural than anything else.
5 Patrick Bruneni // May 3, 2009 at 8:43 pm

I think the commercial is HILARIOUS. Would I buy the product? Hell, no. But I ain’t buying fastfood pasta no matter who is selling it.
6 Pledge to Succeed, Gov 2.0, Cleveland Deux, Cell Phone Sex Ed - Adrants // May 4, 2009 at 2:49 pm

[...] Revisiting the sad fate of Dominos’ Pasta Dude. by Angela Natividad May- 4-09 Comments (0) [...]
7 Gawker Post Detail // May 5, 2009 at 6:59 am

[...] perceived as Pasta Dude smackin’ some imaginary ass, in his pasta dance. God bless America. [ So Good Blog via Adrants [...]
8 "Pasta Dude" Pulled Commercial [VIDEO] // May 5, 2009 at 11:11 am

[...] Read All About Pasta Dude [...]
9 TBTL - MyNorthwest.com // May 5, 2009 at 2:56 pm

[...] this got the folks over at So Good Blog remembering Domino’s last ill-fated foray into selling pasta. The ads starred a plucky little piece of penne known as Pasta Dude. Whereas this commercial starts [...]
10 Deadspin All Stories Detail // May 5, 2009 at 5:18 pm

[...] Maybe.) Though I am curious to see how that might taste covered in chocolate and ketchup. Anyway, the “So Good” blog pointed out the now-defunct but entirely brilliant “Pasta Dude” commercial that Domino’s once had attached to [...]
11 Great Moments In Commercial History: Domino's Pasta Dude // May 9, 2009 at 2:18 pm

[...] Domino’s rolled out a screechy-voiced CGI rigatoni that raps about the joys of oven-baked pasta, reports SoGood. “Pasta Dude” some rhymes, then he busts out some dance moves that look like he’s bending over an [...]
12 The Athens NEWS :: Athens, Ohio's only locally-owned newspaper :: Blogs // Jun 7, 2009 at 2:42 pm

[...] Pasta DUDE! This commercial orginally aired last fall to promote Dominoes’ new pasta line. But Pasta Dude is no more for the latest bread bowl push. You may have noticed national pizza giants Dominoes and Pizza Hut have both introduced delivery [...]
13 Binghamton Shows - Bread bowl pasta for all.. // Jul 4, 2009 at 3:10 am

[...] while (obj = obj.offsetParent) { curleft += obj.offsetLeft; curtop += obj.offsetTop; } } pUp = (c http://www.sogoodblog.com/2009/04/30/dominos-illfated-pasta-dude-commercial/I figured it would give people something to shit on…..and go (yes i find this funny and should [...]
14 Bryce I // Aug 4, 2009 at 8:10 pm

This ad makes me laugh and laugh – I never get tired of it! But I do think it is a very poor ad. The main problem is that it doesn’t accurately appeal to the obvious target market for this product: mothers. The humor appeals to males 18-34 instead of the appropriate target market. I’m not surprised that it was not effective.
15 Food Tube - Salon.com // Feb 19, 2010 at 11:55 am

[...] company’s ad for its Pasta Perfecta was pulled, supposedly because it includes an obscene gesture, but more likely because (surprise!) having a [...]
16 Salon.com Mobile // Feb 20, 2010 at 1:25 am

[...] company’s ad for its Pasta Perfecta was pulled, supposedly because it includes an obscene gesture, but more likely because (surprise!) having a [...]
17 Italian TV chef: Cats are a "delicacy" - Food Tube - Salon.com // Feb 26, 2010 at 11:11 pm

[...] company’s ad for its Pasta Perfecta was pulled, supposedly because it includes an obscene gesture, but more likely because (surprise!) having a [...]