AdAge’s Bob Garfield doesn’t think so. But Bob seems to take pleasure in being the curmudgeon of advertising. If you haven’t seen this campaign on the air, then take a look. I’ll have to admit, this brutal honesty and self-awareness caught me off guard. Sure, I was curious to see if they really made their product better. But more importantly, I empathized with the brand. Not just the brand, but the people behind the brand. Call me naive, but I think they actually humanized the brand.

Focus group poop

We all know how it feels to have our work pooped on, whether the criticism is deserved or not. Those of us who have had our work scrutinized, misinterpreted, and rewritten by a focus group have a unique appreciation for the reaction of the Domino’s chefs as they listen to the feedback about the cardboard crust and the sauce that tastes like ketchup. Of course we can assume that these reaction shots of dejected chefs were staged for this spot, but the emotion has got to be real.

Transparency chic

Transparency is the new black. So many brands are attempting to at least look honest and accessible by letting everyone peek behind the curtain. Even our government is getting in on that action. When you go to the Pizza Turnaround website, you’ll see real time tweets about the new pizza and the campaign. It seems to be unfiltered. I saw plenty of negative comments, but the majority seem to be supportive and appreciative.

Insight that can’t be ignored

When a brand is as plagued by negativity and bad luck as Domino’s, you can’t pretend everything is fine. A “new and improved” message would have been a yawn. I think this was the only move left for this brand. And because I now feel something for them, I hope it works.