In 1986, Domino’s Pizza unveiled a bold advertising mascot: a mischievous, rabbit-eared gremlin called The Noid. The character quickly became famous — he appeared on T-shirts, in video games and even in a Michael Jackson video — but through a bizarre series of unfortunate events, he became infamous, too.

Early sketches of The Noid. Credit: Ernie Perich

Ernie Perich (the creative director behind The Noid), Tim McIntyre (the vice president of communications at Domino’s) and Sean Burnsed tell the true — and not true — story of The Noid’s creation and demise.

Sketches of The Noid from Will Vinton Studios. Credit: Ernie Perich

Music by Chill Carrier, Katona Twins and Podington Bear used under a Creative Commons license.