Britain’s Got Talent – which reached its miserable climax on Saturday night – could have been prosecuted under the Trades Description Act. But it wasn’t the title that really got my goat – it was the programme's equally misleading idents for Dominos Pizzas.I was under the impression that food ads should show the featured product looking its very best. Indeed, any marketer worth their salt will use a degree of poetic license to increase the attractiveness of their client’s comestible (see this site for some amusing examples in packaging).

So what on earth was going on with these Dominos idents? A loyal user of my local branch, I almost choked on my Pepperoni Passion when I saw the ads. Whenever my delivery boy arrives at my door, he always bears a perfectly-cooked taste sensation – crispy on top but melt-in-the-mouth.

However, the pizzas in these ads look like they have never been anywhere near an oven – the cheese is not even slightly brown, for Pete’s sake. These pallid excuses for pizza look even less appealing than the frozen thick-crust variety that the UK suffered in the early 1980s. I suppose it is difficult to install a proper pizza oven when you are on location, but why didn’t the creatives just ring out for a few? If I was a Dominos executive I would be more than a little upset.

Read more »