January 13, 1997

A Slice of Sensitivity

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With over 1,100 stores around the globe, you’d think Domino’s Pizza International would know a thing or two about Establishing An International Presence. They boast of a “Master Franchise Agreement” that “eliminates many cultural challenges of overseas development,” and tout their ability to accomodate such significant “cultural differences” as “delivery vehicles, store design, and pizza topping selections.” [Fun fact!: The top topping in Guatemala is Black Bean Sauce!]

When you’re so busy figuring out that guava is the most popular topping in Columbia, and organizing all those bicycle delivery drivers in the Netherlands, who has time to screen advertising for offensive racial caricatures? Gary McCausland, managing director of Domino’s international subsidiary, explains the difficulties in the following letter to Conteh Davis of Direct Action for Rights and Equality: August 20, 1996

Dear Mr. Davis,

…I would like to express my sincere apologies and confirm that it is not the policy of Domino’s Pizza to promote and/or endorse any such advertisement material. I further confirm that our agreements and documentation are very specific with respect to advertising promotions which are appropriate within the Domino’s Pizza family.

Approximately one and a half years ago, we were informed of this advertised material and contacted our Franchisee in Guatemala and expressed our extreme disappointment and have requested and received confirmation that such a campaign is offensive and inappropriate. We have further received confirmation that this campaign was immediately ceased at that time. In order to assure that there is no miscommunication, we will be dispatching one of our Senior Operations Directors to Guatemala to review with our Franchisee the parameters for appropriate advertising material, and to confirm, once again, our advertising politics.

I would like to thank you for kindly pointing out to us that this program was in existence. I cannot express to you my sincere regret and disappointment that this has taken place. I can assure you that Domino’s Pizza will do everything necessary to ensure that this does not happen again.

Kind Regards,

Gary McCausland
Managing Director

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

The short of it: Last year, we had to cut $1 million from our budget so we could have any chance of breaking even by the time our fiscal year ended in June. And despite a huge rally from so many of you leading up to the deadline, we still came up a bit short on the whole. We can’t let that happen again. We have no wiggle room to begin with, and now we have a hole to dig out of.

Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

Because the in-depth journalism on underreported beats and unique perspectives on the daily news you turn to Mother Jones for is only possible because readers fund us. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism we exist to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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Getting just 10 percent of the people who care enough about our work to be reading this blurb to part with a few bucks would be utterly transformative for us, and that's very much what we need to keep charging hard in this financially uncertain, high-stakes year.

If you can right now, please support the journalism you get from Mother Jones with a donation at whatever amount works for you. And please do it now, before you move on to whatever you're about to do next and think maybe you'll get to it later, because every gift matters and we really need to see a strong response if we're going to raise the $253,000 we need in less than three weeks.

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