How Domino's Digitally Blended Itself With Cheers for Its New Ad

When Norm Peterson walks into an establishment, he expects a certain level of recognition. But unlike at his beloved watering hole, Cheers, he finds himself struggling with anonymity when he enters a Domino's. There's a perfectly good reason for that, at least in the pizza chain's new ad from agency CPB. Norm hasn't used Domino's Pie Pass, which lets you check in when you arrive for a pickup order, letting the store know you're there and enabling you to skip the line. While the ad has a simple premise in its twist on the iconic shouts of "Norm!" whenever he'd arrive at Cheers, actually making it happen required more detailed work many might imagine. First, let's take a look at the ad: [kickout id="1"] Created by CPB, the ad was brought to life through several production partnerships, including with New York visual effects house Artjail. The team watched all 275 episodes of Cheers to find the perfect footage of Norm entering and approaching the bar. But then he had to be isolated from the footage and melded with a body double to pull off the effect of him ordering a pizza at a Domino's counter. The Cheers-esque Domino's location was, of course, created specifically for the ad by CPB and production house Arts & Sciences. The goal was to have an entryway that was reminiscent of the show's location while also making the ordering experience look like a modern Domino's. In the behind-the-scenes video below, you can see how the location was constructed and set up for Norm's invisible visit. Then the digital effects work begins in earnest, removing Norm from the original footage and ensuring smooth transitions as the camera changes angles. [kickout id="2"] Here are some stills comparing Norm's entrances in the original episode and the ad: [kickout id="5"] [kickout id="6"] [kickout id="7"] [kickout id="8"] The spot continues two recent themes in Domino's advertising: Fanning the flames of nostalgia and highlighting pickup rather than delivery. On the nostalgia front, we've seen Domino's and CPB created ads in recent years riffing on Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Risky Business. But the work supporting pizza pickup has extended into some pretty fascinating areas beyond traditional ads—most notably with the brand's "Paving for Pizza" project that offered to repair potholes in cities nationwide so fans could get their carry-out orders home safely. CREDITS: Agency: CPB Executive Creative Director: Tom Adams Creative Directors: Kelly Mccormick, D'arcy O'neill Art Directors: Mike Murphy, Jake Roberts Copywriters: Nick Huey, Dylan Cimo Design Director: Adam Skalecki Senior Designer: Taryn Kealani Head Of Production: Dan Corken Senior Producer: Rachel Noonan Group Account Director: Jacqueline Redmond Management Supervisor: Alyssa Fitterer Account Supervisor: Brad George Account Manager: Meghan Childs Project Manager: Allison Schoenback Business Affairs Managers: Kelly Lenthe, Ann Shelton Group Director Strategy: Courtney Loveman Strategist: Kelly Thompson Production Company: Arts & Sciences Director: Matt Lenski Director Of Photography: Toby Irwin Manager Partner, Executive Producer (Production Co): Marc Marrie Executive Producer (Production Co): Mal Ward Producer: Kristin Porter Telecine Company: CO3 Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld Senior Color Producer: Gabriel Wakeman Editorial Company: Wild Manor Editor: James Bedford Executive Producer: Lennon Barnica Producer: Kate Swenson Mix And Sound Design Company: Lime Studios Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan Producer: Kayla Mashburn Engineer & Sound Designer: Matt Miller Assistant Engineer: Ian Connie Finishing and VFX: Artjail Head of 2D / Creative Director: Lee Towndrow Lead Flame: Emily Bloom Nuke Artists: Gerard Andal, Kyle Andal, Dayung Jo Design Animation: Mike Foran, Juan Monasterio Owner: Steve Mottershead Managing Director/executive Producer: John Skeffington Producer: Michael Brown