A US fast-food chain reworking one of Italy’s most loved breads – in Italy? That was always going to face scrutiny from Italian diners. So when KFC swapped the bun for focaccia with two new sandwiches, DUDE: Milano embraced the potential controversy with a touch of comedy.

Instead of dodging Italians’ famous food purism, the campaign dives straight in, positioning two new chicken focaccias as proudly Italian-American. The Focaccia all’Americana, with fried chicken, bacon and cheddar, and the Focaccia all’Italiana, with fried chicken, tomato, mozzarella and pesto are neither Italian nor American. They are Italian-American, in the same tradition as spaghetti and meatballs or chicken parmigiana. These are dishes Italians like to disown, but Italian-Americans defend with total conviction, and so the campaign needed a judge who shared that conviction.

That judge is Fabrizio Brienza, former model for Armani, Valentino, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana. He has acted in Taken, Duplicity and The Adjustment Bureau, and played Nico, underboss to Chazz Palminteri’s character, in MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem. Between shoots, he works the door at Paul’s Casablanca, one of New York’s most exclusive clubs. KFC flew him from New York to Milan to try the new range, his first trip home in seven years.

The hero film is a comedic, vlog-meets-mockumentary account of Brienza’s return to Italy, blending polished cinematic footage with phone clips shot by Brienza himself, and borrowing the talking-head format of The Office. The film follows him from New York to a KFC in Milan, where he puts both focaccias to the test and delivers his verdict straight to camera.

The film mixes polished footage with Brienza’s own phone footage, and he narrates it in a mix of Italian and English.

Brienza embraces every Italian-American stereotype, and clearly relishes it. In pinstripes, an open collar and aviators, he’s all swagger and unshakeable confidence, a character in the tradition of the Italian-Americans of film and TV. He switches freely between Italian and English and treats the tasting with the gravity of a man who considers himself the final authority on Italian-American flavour. There’s a call from his mother, some serious deliberation over pesto, and a sign-off aimed squarely at Italy’s food purists, “Go focaccia yourself!”

The campaign is published as a collaboration between @kfc_italia and @fabrizio.brienza. It is supported by paid social cutdowns and by a street-style catchphrase video in the format Brienza’s followers know from his Instagram and TikTok. In that video, he walks past a KFC and takes off his jacket to reveal a “What the Focaccia” T-shirt. The idea also runs through an Italian-American radio spot and in-store communication designed to bring “a little bit of Little Italy” into every restaurant.

For the packaging, DUDE: Design created wrapping paper inspired by the traditional Italian way of wrapping focaccia. Each recipe gets its own graphic identity rooted in both Italian and American visual culture.

“With The Focaccia, we wanted to tell the story of the encounter between Italy and the United States without taking ourselves too seriously, using these very cultural influences as a distinctive element of the communication. Fabrizio Brienza felt like the natural choice to bring this story to life: he is not simply the face of the campaign, but embodies its very concept, allowing us to engage with audiences through an authentic social-first language,” stated Marzia Farè, CMO of KFC Italia.

“With this campaign, we’re bringing to life every Italian-American’s ultimate dream: making their way back home to the beloved ‘Bel Paese’. At the same time, The Focaccia lets Italians tap straight into the world of American street-food culture, reimagined the Italian way. And the KFC x Brienza collab? It’s a lot like focaccia and fried chicken: totally unexpected, yet somehow a perfect match,” added Luca Riva, executive creative director of DUDE:Milano.

Credits
Creative Agencies: DUDE MILANO + DUDE DESIGN
Chief Creative Officers & Partners: Livio Basoli, Lorenzo Picchiotti
Creative Directors: Luca Riva, Davide Labò
Associate Creative Directors: Ilaria Biani, Cecilia Rocchetta
Art Director & Copywriter: Matilde Guabello, Lorenzo Di Biccari
Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer: Lorenzo Foffani
Head of Content: Ludovica D’Aquino
Senior Strategic Planner: Grazia Zucchiatti 
Content Creator: Annamaria Lieto 
Business Director: Elena Panza
Account Director: Ilario Ruffini
Senior Account Manager: Antonia Martone
Senior Account Executive: Federica Menandro
Head of Video Production: Simone Raddi 
Senior Producers: Irene Taverna, Fabio Amato 
Production Coordinator: Francesca Di Donna
Post Production Director: Seba Morando
Post Producer: Silvia Brigoli
Design Director: Anna Rodighiero

Director: Michele Stella 
DOP: Filippo Marcodini
Editor Michele Stella
Motion & Sound Design: Niccolò Gobbi
Sound Mix: Mauro Lafratta