Pizza Hut will begin a new Spanish language advertising campaign for Tuscani Pastas featuring real people captured on hidden camera who are surprised by the restaurant-quality of the new dishes.

The new spot, titled “Cooking Show,” was shot in Mexico City, where people on the street were invited to a taping of the new cooking show “Cocina Tuscani.” After watching the chef prepare his specialty pasta dishes, the audience sampled the two pasta styles–Meaty Marinara and Creamy Chicken Alfredo. Only after sampling did the participants learn that the pastas were not created by a chef from a five-star restaurant in Rome, but were instead prepared by Pizza Hut.

“In less than three months, Tuscani Pastas have been an extremely popular addition to our menu and have established Pizza Hut as a leader in the pasta restaurant industry,” says Brian Niccol, Pizza Hut chief marketing officer. “Our new Spanish language ads again capture the strong positive reactions we receive on the quality and great taste of our pasta.”

In April, Pizza Hut introduced Tuscani Pastas, the first restaurant-quality pastas delivered by a national pizza chain. Since the debut, Tuscani Pastas have been a welcome addition at dinner tables across the country, with more than two million units sold in the first month. The launch ad for Tuscani Pastas featured real people being surprised to learn that their gourmet pasta meal at the grand opening of a restaurant was delivered by Pizza Hut.

The hidden-camera concept of real people enjoying the quality of the Tuscani Pastas was carried into the Spanish language television and radio spots. The new spots were created by Dieste Harmel and Partners and will begin airing nationally on June 29.

Among pasta consumers, Hispanic households eat pasta more often than the national average, according to data from Mintel research(1). Hispanic households enjoy a complete package pasta dinner 5.7 times over a 30-day period, compared to 5.0 times for all households and also eat canned/jarred spaghetti or macaroni 2.7 times per month versus 2.2 times for all households.

Tuscani Pastas come in two chef-inspired styles: Creamy Chicken Alfredo and Meaty Marinara, which are delivered right to your door. Both recipes feature rotini pasta and a delicious blend of sauce and cheese that’s added to the pasta before it is oven baked. Each of the Tuscani Pastas is over three pounds and comes with a bag of five freshly baked breadsticks.

Tuscani Pastas are priced at $11.99 and can be ordered online at pizzahut.com or through Pizza Hut’s newest method of ordering, Total Mobile Access, using text messaging or mobile Web on your cellular phone. You can also download Pizza Hut’s new desktop ordering widget and order Tuscani Pastas directly from your computer in just a few clicks.

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