• by Teresa Buyikian , Yesterday

Chili’s new Chicken Parm Big Crispy has launched in three very Italian-sounding cities, but the locations, sandwich and star of the ad campaign are about as far from Italy as you can get.

The brand this week announced that the new sandwich, a combination of the chain’s chicken sandwich and fried mozzarella layered with marinara sauce, is now available in Florence, Rome and Venice.

To be specific, the sandwich kicked off in Florence, Kentucky; Rome, Georgia; and Venice, Florida on Oct. 13, and will be available nationwide Oct. 20.

And since neither Chili’s nor the sandwich are actually Italian, the brand also tapped Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, another non-Italian from the series “Jersey Shore,” to star in the brand’s ad campaign. 

In the hero spot, seen here, Polizzi exits a limo dressed in head-to-toe leopard print, looking as if she is about to walk a red carpet at a premiere. Except she’s actually in Florence, Kentucky, where she proceeds to tour the city’s famous sites such as a mall, water park, flower shop and water tower. The spot ends with Polizzi at Chili’s chowing down on the Chicken Parm Big Crispy, asking “Hey, when is this coming to Jersey?”

“We've loved seeing how guests responded to the Big Crispy, and it got us thinking about how we could build on that with flavors we know they already love,” said George Felix, CMO and executive vice president of Brinker International, in a release. “A Big Crispy topped with our fan-favorite Fried Mozz and marinara is craveable, over the top in all the right way … You won't find a Chicken Parm with a better cheese pull than this.”

This week Chili’s location in Florence features an Italian mural booth photo opp. All three limited-time locations offered commemorative plates for the first 150 guests that tried the sandwich.