Nonna, a great name for a pasta.

Look, sometimes it's not really creative let's face it. And sometimes "not really creative" is what is needed. So, and I know this is sacrilegious, pasta is pasta (if you know how to cook it I guess, and again, just my opinion), and for this specific pasta - the name wins by a mile.

Which I presume is the only creative part in the ad. And yes, "nonna" is grandma in Italian - hence the wink to families and affection and all. Pity it was not explained because honestly not many Lebanese know this. I think with a better selling line, this would have been a smash, as is - a small wasted opportunity.

Divella - Italian passion

Divella - well, this is a brand I notice in the supermarket. With a high price-quality ratio. Yes, we are one of the families that drifted from Barilla when brand-loyalty got replaced with price-sensitivity. And there it is, Divella is on the streets. The idea is to adapt the shape of the pasta to "Italian passion" (or specialties). I am not sure if the campaign has further visuals, but the two I saw included a Vespa and fashion design.

So it will be nice to see this campaign - which is interesting to be honest - go further in the analogy. Again, perhaps this has already happened, except I only have these two visuals on my radar.

Liamo - a Lebanese produced pasta

Well, I have mentioned earlier the rise of the Lebanese made products and the  new "import Dollar" which is about to increase the prices of imported goods heavily, so added to the other products "made in Lebanon" (this is a good example of such a product) there seems to be a pasta brand "which made Italians go nuts" according to the ad. Of course, what might be baffling is that in certain instances the locally-produced goods tend to be more expensive than the imported (I am thinking of specific brands, not Liamo who - according to the net - seems to be in the lower margins of the pasta pricing for Lebanon).

Interestingly there was also a launch film which you can find here, the film plays the story of "making the Italians go nuts" on the literal side which sort takes the fun out of it as it happens at an airport in "Italy" (Malpensa, Milano) and the security at the airport are offended pasta is being brought from Lebanon and of course, need to try it at once (one of the security people is called... Pavarotti. Yes, sigh!). I think the card could have been played much better and differently.