What it had to solve
Two launches — the Focaccia all'Americana (fried chicken, bacon, cheddar) and the Focaccia all'Italiana (fried chicken, tomato, mozzarella, pesto) — are 'neither Italian nor American' but Italian-American, the cuisine Italians disown and Italian-Americans defend with total conviction.
The idea
Hire a real Italian-American New Yorker as official taste tester and film his homecoming verdict like an episode of The Office.
How it works
A vlog-meets-mockumentary hero film mixes cinematic footage with Fabrizio Brienza's own phone clips: the former Armani and Versace model, Godfather of Harlem actor and NYC club doorman flies home after seven years, verdicts both sandwiches to camera in pinstripes and aviators, and signs off 'Go focaccia yourself!' — supported by paid social cutdowns, a street-style catchphrase video, an Italian-American radio spot and focaccia-wrapping-paper packaging.
What it did
The sandwiches rolled out across KFC restaurants in Italy from October 6, 2026, while stocks last; the campaign ran as a KFC Italia x Brienza social-media collaboration.
Background
A US fast-food chain putting fried chicken on focaccia was always going to face scrutiny from Italian diners, so when KFC Italia launched the Focaccia all'Americana and the Focaccia all'Italiana, DUDE Milano leaned in. The sandwiches are 'neither Italian nor American. They are Italian-American, in the same tradition as spaghetti and meatballs or chicken parmigiana' — dishes Italians disown but Italian-Americans defend with total conviction, so the campaign needed a judge who shared it.
That judge is Fabrizio Brienza: a New York Italian-American who has modelled for Armani and Versace, acted in Taken and Godfather of Harlem, works the door at Paul's Casablanca — and had not been home to Italy in seven years. KFC flew him to Milan, where he tests both focaccias and delivers his verdict straight to camera. The hero film blends polished footage with Brienza's own vertical phone clips, borrows the talking-head format of The Office, and includes a call from his mother and serious deliberation over pesto before his closing line to Italy's purists: 'Go focaccia yourself!'
The idea ran through the whole campaign: a 'What the Focaccia' T-shirt revealed in a street-style video in the format Brienza's Instagram and TikTok followers know, an Italian-American radio spot, in-store dressing meant to bring 'a little bit of Little Italy' into every restaurant, and DUDE: Design wrapping paper inspired by the traditional Italian way of wrapping focaccia, with each recipe getting its own graphic identity rooted in both Italian and American visual culture.
Why it lands
It hired the argument instead of answering it: an Italian-American with genuine standing judges the hybrid food.
Casting Brienza as a character — swagger, aviators, shadowboxing — let the campaign play the stereotype from inside, with his blessing.
The mockumentary format made an ad watch like content, and Brienza's own phone footage made the homecoming feel unstaged.
The collateral extended the joke to packaging and radio, so the 'Italian-American' framing survived past the hero film.
What you can take
When your product will be accused of heresy, don't defend it — cast the most convicted defender of the hybrid and let him pass judgment.
Since then
The Focaccia all'Americana and Focaccia all'Italiana went on sale across KFC restaurants in Italy from October 6, 2026, while stocks last, with the campaign published as a collaboration between KFC Italia's and Brienza's social accounts and supported by paid social cutdowns.
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