Domino’s today (Aug. 4) launched a new campaign for its long-standing $6.99 Mix & Match deal, per details shared with Marketing Dive. Creative visualizes how pizzas stack up to similarly priced cheeseburgers by cutting the latter into comically small portions in an attempt to grab the attention of consumers who still think fast-food burger chains provide the best value.
The effort was created with agency partner WorkInProgress and demonstrates how Domino’s is taking the fight over QSR value to fast-food chains. Two 30-second spots featuring real people bring that insight to life for kids at a bounce park and for practicing football players; the campaign also includes a 15-second product-focused ad. Creative will run across TV, linear, social and digital.
“Every QSR brand and fast casual is trying to find their way into value, and I think they are realizing they need to apply more creative firepower to that, because it's so crucial right now,” said Matt Talbot, co-founder and chief creative officer at WorkInProgress. “We talk a lot about value being not cheap, but being the best food for a good price… I think our position was less about targeting a specific brand, and more the categories or food types, just to make people think about it in a new way.”
The value-focused push comes as the macroeconomic landscape remains unsettled by the effects of tariffs, inflation and other issues. QSR brands, especially fast-food chains that have long relied on low prices as a key part of their value propositions, have struggled to deliver on value as they previously had. The market has forced restaurants to turn to new marketing strategies, with chains including Chili’s advertising about providing more value than fast food.
“Our approach to advertising is to combine a memorable brand action, craveable pizza and strong and consistent value. This combination allows for more breakthrough work that is also very attractive to customers [and] helps us break out of the sea of sameness you start to feel in the QSR space,” said Kate Trumbull, executive vice president and global chief marketing officer at Domino’s, in emailed comments.
While Chili’s illustrated the high cost of fast food with a high-concept pop-up, Domino’s is using an effective visual metaphor that was first conceptualized by Domino’s CEO Russell Weiner before being expanded upon by WorkInProgress. The creative process on the campaign illustrates the collaborative approach between brand and agency that has yielded other successful efforts, like its Emergency Pizza platform.
“There's not any barrier between Domino’s and us, as far as the way ideas flow back and forth, because we have such a tight relationship and we have a seat at the table,” Talbot explained. “We know what's going on with the business, and we know what are the levers we can pull.”
The focus on the $6.99 Mix & Match deal demonstrates how Domino’s is finding new messages around old offers, especially with its previous “Best Deal Ever” promotion set to end on Aug. 3. The effort is backed by internal research that found consumers still view fast-food burger chains as having the best value, despite the reality in 2025.
“This deal has existed for a very long time and is very popular with existing customers, but isn't used commonly by new customers,” Talbot said. “We've never illustrated the value in this super clear way.”
Domino’s last quarter saw U.S. same-store sales growth of 3.4%, per an earnings report. Executives on a call with investors discussed how having the largest ad budget within the pizza QSR gives the chain the ability to out-advertise the competition, especially in an environment where all of QSR faces headwinds.
“I think the important thing to understand right now is whether it's pizza or burgers or QSRs in general. There is pressure because consumers are looking for value,” CEO Russell Weiner said on the call. “The big difference with Domino's is when we provide value, we're going on offense. We're doing it because we think we can grow, and I think other folks are doing it because they're on defense and a little bit treading water.”
