'Nonnas' Take To New York Streets To Push Ragu's Kettle-Cooked Sauce

by Fern Siegel , November 17, 2023

Who better than an Italian nonna (grandmother) to make the perfect pasta sauce?

So when four nonnas endorse a store-bought brand, it can make for a fun, sweet ad, which is the premise behind Ragu's new kettle-cooked sauce campaign, “The Nonnas in New York.” Ragu was founded in 1937 by Assunta Cantisano and her husband, Giovanni; their son used to delivery the sauce in his Rochester, New York, neighborhood.

Digitas' Ragu spots take that genesis to the streets of New York, where the nonnas set up a stand to offer pasta to passersby. They even stop drivers in cars, encouraging them to sample their food, which they insist tastes like homemade.

Laura Keeler, SVP-creative director, Digitas, said: “The campaign embodies the perfect blend of humor, authenticity and deliciousness that sets the Ragu brand apart.”

Ragu's new sauce is slow kettle-cooked to bring out the taste of simmered onions, fresh garlic and basil without sugar added.

The campaign is running nationally on OLV, YouTube and social media.

Ragu commanded over a 42% market share, generating over $500 million in sales, Ballentine Partners reported in April 2022. Ragu is owned by Mizkan America.

ad campaign, food

2 comments about "'Nonnas' Take To New York Streets To Push Ragu's Kettle-Cooked Sauce".

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Dan C. from MS Entertainment, November 20, 2023 at 9:20 a.m.
It's interesting that it's still acceptable to make fun of Italians and play on Italian stereotypes, but other cultures are off-limits going and groups will go so far as to cancel people and boycott companies.

Personally, I find no offense and do find the humour in these stereotypes because any one of those women could be my nonna. But I do think it's hypocritical by Madison Avenue to be so woke, yet find it totally acceptable to play on Italian steroetypes in marketing while it simultaneously condemns stereotypes for other cultures.
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Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, November 20, 2023 at 10:51 a.m.

Actually, many Italian Americans have protested the sterotyping that implies that organized crime is run by Italians. Way back in the early 1960s, when "The Untouchables" was a major rating hit for the ABC TV network, numerous law suits were filed---including one by Al Capone's widow----against the producers of the show---Desilu---and the network- --about the fact that almost all of the villains had Italian names. About ten years later, N.Y. crime boss, Joe Colombo, organized the Italian American Civil Rights League which had much the same agenda---Cosa Nostra, Mafia? ---these were totally ficticious ---right? Then, Joe was shot at a rally in New York---presumably a victim of a rival mob leader. As I recall, pressure was also put on the producers of "The Godfather" not to use those words---Cosa Nostra or Mafia---in their movie a few years later.