Dolmio’s Iconic Family Makes Effective Comeback with 4.9-Star System1 Score

Dolmio’s decision to bring back its iconic puppet family after almost a decade away has paid off with consumers, with the brand’s new TV advert scoring a Strong 4.9-Star Rating in effectiveness testing by System1, placing it among the top 4% of ads in the Condiments, Sauces, Oils, Spices & Spreads category.

The score is significantly above the 3.3-Star category average and indicates strong potential to drive long-term brand growth. The advert also achieved an “Exceptional” Spike Rating of 1.35, signalling strong potential to generate short-term sales impact.

The new campaign, created by T&P, marks Dolmio’s 40th anniversary and sees Papa, Mama, Sophia, Carlo, Nina and Nico return to screens alongside the famous 'When’s Your Dolmio Day?' line. It forms part of Dolmio’s biggest marketing campaign in more than a decade, spanning TV and video-on-demand, social, influencer activity and OOH.

According to System1, a major factor behind the advert’s performance is Dolmio’s decision to look backwards in order to move the brand forwards: reviving distinctive characters and a brand platform that audiences already know rather than starting again with an entirely new creative identity.

The strategy taps into the proven effectiveness of long-standing brand characters. Research conducted by System1 and Effie Worldwide found that campaigns featuring brand characters are twice as likely to report profit growth or market share gain as campaigns without them.

Characters can be particularly powerful because they encourage brands to remain consistent over time, allowing the same distinctive assets and associations to build in consumers’ memories rather than being replaced with each new campaign.

System1 and Effie’s analysis also found campaigns using brand characters are 50% more likely to report gains in differentiation, while adverts featuring characters are on average 26% more emotional. Campaigns using them are also three times more likely to report gains in distinctiveness.

For Dolmio, the family fulfils all three roles. The characters are instantly associated with the brand, provide a recognisable personality and give the advertising an entertaining story that can work without relying on a hard product sell.

​Andrew Tindall, chief growth officer – advertising at System1, said, “Dolmio didn't need reinventing, it needed remembering. Bringing the family back is a deliberate bet on culture over category noise. You'll see them everywhere: life size on the street, loud and colourful on outdoor, consistent across social and TV. No hard sell, just the characters doing what they've always done best.”