Italian tomato brand Mutti and creative agency WiredCo have launched Confessions of a Muttiholic, an integrated campaign exploring most obsessed fans through a documentary series.
The campaign is an extension of the brand platform, When You Know, You Know.
"It might sound unusual to say people have a real connection with a tomato brand, but with Mutti, they genuinely do," said Samantha Nunura, group business director at WiredCo.
"We've seen such deep love and loyalty from fans that their commitment goes far beyond the ordinary."
The campaign was executed via paid media including out of home and social, content, organic social and earned media.
The process started in May via a recruitment style media push and the creation of a Confessions of a Muttiholic hotline with a custom landing page. Fans left hundreds of anonymous voicemails and direct messages confessing their obsessions about Mutti.
"It was a test of sorts to mine for insights and see what we could surface," said Joe Stuart, creative director at WiredCo.
"To our delight, we discovered stories like the woman who used Mutti in her skincare, the man who cracked open a can every morning like it was OJ, the bride who made Mutti the centrepiece of her shower, and the woman who tattooed a Mutti can on her arm for eternity."
A Mutti Confessions Sessions activation was staged in partnership with Fabbrica Pasta Bar in Sydney's CBD. Over two days, fans showed their love via a custom-made confessional booth, recording confessions and receiving a bowl of Mutti Napoletana Pasta.
The earned media push generated 99 media and creator hits, almost seven million opportunities to see, and captured 190 fresh confessions on camera.
"We were blown away by the response," said Samantha Filocamo, marketing director for Australia and New Zealand at Mutti.
"The more we learned, the more layered it got, proving that these weren't just made-up stories, it was real passion for the brand."
"So, we wanted to amplify this at a mass level."
Using the best confessions from the hotline and confessional event, WiredCo chronicled the cult of Mutti in a three-part Confessions of a Muttiholic documentary series on TikTok and Instagram.
Produced by PlayLab Creative and directed by Harry Sanna, each two-minute film reveals a different confession.
"We've always wanted to behave differently to the category, and so the idea of a big ad featuring a woman using Mutti tomato paste tubes as hair rollers is unexpected and the perfect representation of people's deep obsession with the brand," said Filocamo.
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