We'll tell you. You get Confessions of a Muttiholic: Saucy Stories — an audio series that turns real Mutti fan confessions into steamy short stories, narrated by some of Australia's most famous voices. And kicking the whole thing off? Australia's all-time leading goal scorer and Matildas superstar, Sam Kerr, in a way you've never heard her before.
Where we left off
Last year, we launched Confessions of a Muttiholic based on a simple insight: that when Australians discover Mutti, they don't just like it — they get obsessed. So we built a hotline, asked people to confess, and got hundreds of stories back. Tins tattooed on arms. Mutti as the centrepiece of a wedding shower. People cracking a can as pre-workout.
It turned out the obsession was very, very real.
"Last year proved that Muttiholics aren't just customers, they're passionate, dedicated and incredibly loyal brand fans who have genuinely funny, authentic and entertaining stories to tell."
— Samantha Filocamo, Marketing Director, Mutti ANZ
So for year two, we asked ourselves a simple question: how do we hand the brand back to them?
The insight: nobody loves like a Muttiholic (except maybe a romance heroine)
Romance stories have become one of Australia's fastest-moving cultural obsessions. BookTok alone has racked up over 300 million views. And when you sit that next to the way Muttiholics talk about their tomatoes, the overlap is almost embarrassing.
"Nobody's quite as passionate as the lovers in a romance novel. Except, perhaps, Muttiholics. So it felt fitting that this year, Confessions of a Muttiholic got the full romantic story treatment. It's a saucy evolution of last year's documentary series, dripping in star power."
— Joe Stuart, Creative Director, WiredCo
Rather than interrupt that cultural moment, we decided to meet it inside its own genre. Three real confessions become three romantic short stories, voiced by three iconic Australians you'd never expect to front a romance novel.
"Romance stories have become Australia's latest cultural obsession, so turning real confessions into saucy short stories, voiced by talent like Sam Kerr, lets us meet that obsession inside culture rather than interrupt it. It's also about building a community around this — inviting our biggest fans in and celebrating the Mutti lovers who've made the brand what it is."
— Samantha Filocamo, Marketing Director, Mutti ANZ
Step one: get the words right
If you're going to do romance, you can't fake it. So the stories are written by award-winning Penguin Random House author Emma Mugglestone, with each one inspired by a genuine Muttiholic confession.
"The crafting of this was so important to us all. We wanted to present something that was authentic to the real confession itself and to the romance genre, so we spent a lot of time looking for an experienced romance author who could treat this in the right way."
— Joe Stuart, Creative Director, WiredCo
Step two: cast the voices you'd never expect
The element of surprise was everything. We didn't want the obvious romance narrator, we wanted iconic talent you'd never picture reading a love story, then transform their delivery entirely.
First up: Sam Kerr. She lends her voice to the story of an everyday Aussie whose devotion to Mutti saw her packing tins of Polpa into a suitcase for a romantic getaway, a love story that, fittingly, begins with a mutual love of pasta sauce.
"We wanted to choose iconic talent that you wouldn't expect to front romance stories and transform their delivery. We spent many months searching, discussing and meeting with multiple talent until we'd found the right ones who could be transformed with the help of our director, Lachie."
— Joe Stuart, Creative Director, WiredCo
The series is produced by Rabbit, with Lachlan Dickie directing. Kerr's story anchors the launch, but it's only the beginning. Over a five-month brandformance campaign, new confessions will feed a growing library of episodes read by more celebrities, including a world-famous singer and an Olympic gold medallist still to come.
Step three: put it where romance already lives
A great story is only half the job. The other half is media that shows up where Australians already get their romance fix.
"When you consider over 9 million Aussies listen to podcasts weekly, and the BookTok movement that has over 300M views, this gave the campaign lots of media connection points."
— Ollie Carthy, Head of Paid Media and Strategy, WiredCo
So we wove together a media ecosystem across audio and video streaming, social and radio, alongside impactful out-of-home, contextually aligned to listening habits and category entry points around mealtimes and inspiration. But building the story over time didn't mean going quiet.
"We wanted a big saucy moment, in environments that felt organic to the genre, so we launched with high-impact placements across Spotify, TikTok and YouTube followed by a 60 second roadblock across the Nova radio network during drivetime to deliver Sam Kerr's saucy story to the nation."
— Ollie Carthy, Head of Paid Media and Strategy, WiredCo
Step four: let the talent lead the earned story
To amplify the creative, we built a highly targeted earned media and creator strategy spearheaded by each of the three celebrities. It kicked off with exclusive interviews with Sam and Channel 9's TODAY Show together with NewsCorp, syndicated across key mastheads, supported by creator partnerships with Michael Finch, Sarah Todd and Sarah Brown, with organic creator outreach to come in phase two.
Why this works (the smart strategy part)
We handed the brand back to the fans. The stories aren't invented, they're real confessions, treated with genuine craft. That's the same instinct that made year one work: surface the obsession, don't manufacture it.
We met culture instead of interrupting it. Romance and BookTok were already booming. Rather than buy our way into people's attention, we showed up inside a genre they were already bingeing.
We used surprise as a media multiplier. Casting Sam Kerr — and the talent to follow, as romance narrators is the kind of unexpected that earns its own coverage, before a cent of paid media does the rest.
It runs everywhere, over time. Paid, owned and earned, firing together across a five-month build, audio, video, social, radio and OOH, all the way through to point of purchase.
"We loved the challenge of taking what we started with Muttiholics last year and finding a fresh way to keep telling the story across paid, owned and earned. Saucy Stories is our way of celebrating Mutti fandom again in a playful, culturally relevant way. Next up, a world-famous singer and Olympic gold medallist will follow during phase two."
— Samantha Nunura, General Manager of Client Services and Business Operations, WiredCo
Go on, have a listen
Sam Kerr's full Saucy Story is live now. Press play on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram.
Fair warning: you may never look at a tin of Polpa the same way again.
