Why Domino's Pizza started filling in potholes and branding them

Domino’s Pizza diversified its usual skill set – making above average pizzas – and started filling potholes across America back in 2018 for a very interesting reason. 

Yep, while you’re most likely familiar with Domino’s margaritas and pepperoni pizzas you might be less aware of the period of time when the company took to the streets of the US and diligently filled in potholes. 

Paving for Pizzas was an initiative that involved Domino’s asking its customers to nominate their town for pothole repairs via its website and once a winner was found, branded asphalt vans would turn up to various potholes and fill them – often choosing to tag the work with a spray painted logo and the words: “Oh yes we did.”

You can see some of the work in action, as well as find out why here:

So now we’re all up to speed with how they did it, let’s get to the why. 

Well, as you probably know Domino’s offers a delivery service, and while making those deliveries its drivers – and your delicious pizza – is at the mercy of every dip and bump in the road. 

At the time, Domino’s said these potholes and bumps could cause ‘irreversible damage to your pizza’, which the company demonstrated by sticking a small camera inside a pizza box to reveal the impact of various types of bumpy roads – and the result was not pretty. 

On its Paving for Pizza page, Domino’s explained: “Bad roads shouldn’t happen to good pizza, no matter where you carry out. That's why we paved problematic roads in all 50 states.”

It also shared an interactive map revealing where and when the essential road maintenance had been carried out – if you’re interested in that kind of thing. 

Although it was a (highly effective) public relations stunt, that doesn’t take away from the good work the campaign actually did. 

Domino's Pizza

Speaking in 2018, Michael Brown mayor of Grand Forks in North Dakota, which landed a $5,000 grant to repair roads, told Eater: “The Domino’s campaign helps us showcase the importance of road safety, how we value partnerships, and how the city proactively and creatively provides quality services. 

“The concept of getting pizza to its destination ... safely and efficiently resonates with our community and again helps underscore how important good, safe roads are.”

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Topics: US News, Food and Drink, TikTok

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at UNILAD who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats.