Nestlé Waters proves with its Lion-winning ‘Sopranos’ ad that TikTok trends and AI stunts aren’t necessary to make an impact

To launch a new sparkling water in the U.S., Nestlé Waters turned to the country’s most well-known “love affair” with Italy (as the brand’s global CMO puts it): The Sopranos.

The campaign — featuring Sopranos stars Michael Imperioli (Christopher) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby) — highlighted “the craft” of creating the new beverage, Sanpellegrino CIAO!, from harvested citrus in Sicily, said Elisa Gregori, who was promoted six months ago to global CMO Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages. The ad, in partnership with Ogilvy, won a Bronze Lion at Cannes for Film Craft (Script), and was shortlisted for Film (Microfilm) this year.

While TikTok still faces a pending ban in the U.S., Gregori said building content for the short-form video platform flexes “a new muscle” that the brand hasn’t quite figured out. And the team is hesitating to do so because of the pending ban and because the channel creates the need for a specific type of content to be successful — “the way TikTok should be done,” Gregori said. And though TikTok is reportedly building a standalone app for the U.S., there’s still too much up in the air to make the channel a must for Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages content.

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