One of our readers sent me this commercial/advertising stunt which features three Italian grandmothers who travel in tiny homes on trailers to cook for lucky people and families they meet on the road on what they call a Sausage Sunday. It’s called The Sausage Nonnas – the World’s Most Elite Sausage Delivery Service.
The grandmothers seem funny, they have a great sense of humor, and the tiny homes look pretty spacious, too. This video seems to be a marketing partnership featuring tiny houses on wheels with the Italian Sausage company, Johnsonville and the popular driver service, Uber. What do you think? Funny? Not funny? All I can say is, they seem like a lot of fun to hang out with and I wish I was lucky enough to get to eat their Italian dishes! How about you? Watch the video below and let us know your thoughts.
Three Grandmothers Cooking Italian in Tiny Houses on Wheels
Images © Johnsonville & Uber via YouTube
Images © Johnsonville & Uber via YouTube
VIDEO: The Sausage Nonnas
The Sausage Nonnas – Gina
The Sausage Nonnas – Lidia
The Sausage Nonnas – Antonia
Highlights from Filming the Sausage Nonnas
On November 8, the Sausage Nonnas went to Chicago. Johnsonville partnered with Uber to deliver real Italian grandmas (in tiny grandma homes) to cook for lucky families on Sausage Sunday.
DISCUSSION: I’m curious, do you find this commercial/television show to be funny, entertaining, or not? Aside from the marketing and humor, the tiny homes seem pretty nice, don’t they? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s talk about it in the comments!
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Alex
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love all of it.
Thanks Kristina!
Fantastic post!! Thank you.
Thanks Jen!
Only in Chicago? pity. Looks yummy and like great fun. Do they really live in those houses?
Hi Sharon, no I don’t think they actually live in the houses. Maybe they’ll do it again in another city soon, not sure. But I agree, looks yummy and fun 😀
Fantastic! Not sure the nonnas should have been cooking in the moving Tiny Homes! The houses look great and the nonnas are fab!
Cooking in a moving tiny house seems like a big no no, I’m pretty sure it was just acting though 😀
I love EVERYTHING, the tiny houses, the cooks and the concept. Very cheerful! Brings JOY.
That was hysterical! It reminded my of my grandmother! I absolutely love the tiny houses. Who made them? I would love to live in one of these made of logs. These Nanas are amazing! I don’t even eat sausage, but I would love to meet them and see the rest of their houses. I loved this!☺️
Thanks Mary I’m happy you enjoyed it too. I’d love getting to hang out with them too and try their dishes as well 😀
Cute marketing idea.
Is it me or isn’t it pretty dangerous to be cooking while your tiny house is moving? I guess they thought it would be funny as things are falling down around them, not so funny to me.
I forgot to add: I want one of those tiny houses and one of those cute Nonna’s
Forgot to add, I’ll take one tiny house and one Nonna, I’ll skip the sausage LOL
I thought the same thing. Definitely seems dangerous! I’m thinking (and hoping?) that most of that part was some kind of acting?
Nice tiny homes. The out-takes are a riot! SO SO funny! These ladies need to head south for the winter and show warm weather folks some good Italian food.
These are funny commercials! I certainly enjoyed them.
This was a time warp! The Nonnas are just like I remember from childhood. And the food! Mama mia! Thanks for a comical memorable trip in the Tiny Houses. Ubers are ok, but the drivers take great risks by Driving .
I think it was great! Although I agree, fall risk cooking while driving. Great advertising. Also giving to others and what fun for the Nonas.!!! I loved it. I’m an Uber driver. !! All around great. Just keep the Nonas safe……
Almost brought me to tears. I was raised with a Nona much like these ladies. I am third generation and this was spot on genuine and wonderful Italian. Marketing genius and topped with awesomsauce… I will sign up for Michigan.. I make a great sauce myself…
Adorable! I want a Nonna again. Mine was a great cook, too, only not Italitan. Great commercials!
Loved this! Very clever advertising for Johnsonville Sausage. Also highlights Tiny Houses on Wheels and Uber! The Nonnas are wonderful. And yes, kitchen safety seems to be an issue with the THOW moving.
Wow. I love the tiny houses. The Nonnas set them off wonderfully with the cooking. Is it legal to ride in a moving trailer anywhere in the US? Those are fun commercials and great ladies sharing with everyone.
Thanks Alex that was lovely and fun…
Cute! But I want to know is who built their tiny houses. I like all three designs. Alex do you know who built their homes?
I want to be a sausage Nona. First I need to get a house. I love all of the houses and the Nonas!
Thanks for this post – terrific fun. Loved that remark: “My favorite thing in the kitchen? It’s the stove….” Exactly.
Wow! Similar comments to others. Moving and cooking at the same time? I don’t think so! But quite funny! My grandma was kind of like one of these Nonna’s but different in her own way (of course).
I loved these videos! Very funny! These Nonna’s were great sports to cook and interview while things were falling and swinging all around them. The tiny homes looked cozy. I wish I could have seen more of the tiny houses design/layout.
Cute as Christmas! These ladies look like they are enjoying the hell out of being part of this adventure. Thank you Alex. You always bring us the most fun stuff to look at and enjoy! PS – I must have a blue and white tiny house with a tiny white picket fence!
Thanks Kathy I’m glad you enjoyed it. I thought it was really fun too 😀
I thought the commerciald were great snd the ladies were simply adorable. The tiny homes seemed equally adorable. However, I was concerned about them being in the tiny homes while in motion. But I would watch them.
Absolutely fabulous, had me cracking up. As for cooking while driving – seriously? Come on, it’s easy enough to make the house rock as if it were moving without having to actually drive down the road. Does anybody really think a commercial like that would be made without serious safety guidelines? People are not legally allowed to be inside trailers when they’re being driven down the road. For film making there are all sorts of ways to make something look like it’s real without actually having to do that thing, or they get it done with well trained stunt people and a lot of controls. Honestly people, some of these safety lecture impulses are out of control!
Nonna’s were wonderful. Loved the “grandma” decor of their Tiny Homes. I got concerned when the lamp almost hit one in the head and the food fell. The spontinaity of their giving out pasta and hugs in Chi Town was adorable. A little more diversity would have been nice.
Wonderful! Thanks Alex I really enjoyed this work of yours and theirs 🙂
I love the Nonnas and the THOW’s My favorite of the tree houses would be the mint one, so pretty outside and in. The one in the middle looks a bit small but the other two are great! The Nonna’s priceless! God bless you all and your Nonna’s. Too cool! Happy Trails and Happy Deliveries 🙂
The Nonna’s are wonderful … wish I had one of my own … and I’m a big fan of tiny houses. And kudos to Johnsonville for a clever, timely commercial. That being said, why is it that these three Italian ladies with all their stereotypical cooking, talking and dress are acceptable while the use of three stereotypical African-American grandmothers, Muslim grandmothers or almost any other ethnicity would most certainly create riots in the streets? I understand why Aunt Jemima had to be done away with; to many African-Americans her attire was seen as a symbol of slavery. The fact that children of every color grew up loving her and completely accepting of her color couldn’t possibly be considered a GOOD thing. However, years later when Papa Gino’s came out with “Mama Gino,” an outrageously stereotypical version of many elderly Italian women in her black shoes, stockings and dress … I don’t remember whether they had her wearing the characteristic black shawl around her shoulders or over her head … not one word was said! Nor should it have been, any more than Aunt Jemima … in her updated form, of course … should have been considered a symbol of slavery; couldn’t those characters have been seen as a way for everyone to get to know and accept their cultures? Still, why is it OK to use a stereotype of one nationality/ethnicity in an ad … especially when they are portrayed as lovable characters … but not OK for certain other nationalities/ethnicities? Why aren’t Italian-Americans demonstrating in the streets over these commercials? While my grandmother wasn’t Italian, she came from a region in Austria that later became Italy, and as she got older she favored the stereotypical black stocking-black shoes-black shawl mode of dress used in the “Mama Gino” commercials. She didn’t arrive at Ellis Island as a slave, but she and her entire family were treated like dirt because of their accents, and the “No Italians/Polish/Irish Need Apply” signs in the windows of the stores prohibited them from finding jobs. Those people who were lucky enough to make it through Ellis Island without being turned away because they had a cough or a sty … although people with tuberculosis and illnesses that have long been eradicated in this country are now eagerly accepted and moved into the unsuspecting population … suffered poverty, hunger, a lack of healthcare, discrimination, etc. And yet for some reason, we find it acceptable and amusing to make fun of them in commercials. And yes, I realize that these three ladies are seen today, in 2016, but they have all the stereotypical behaviors of the originals who arrived at Ellis Island, and their cultural quirks are exactly the same. Just makes me wonder why we can’t find all our quirky grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers equally lovable and amusing.
The “Nonnas are adorable and the commercials are great! Maybe this will inspire other companies to create commercials with grandmothers and grandfathers of other ethnicities.
Hysterically funny, warm and wonderful. Such authentically precious women. Excellent filming and special effects. As for legality, if those are 10′-wide, compact lanes, the trailer widths seem 8′-6″ or less and the towing was probably legal. If regular 12′ lanes, then perhaps the filmers obtained special permits that allowed for no flags, signs or rotating lights. Obviously the camera car could have also functioned as a trailing pilot car. But I seriously doubt the Nonnas or the public were in danger. The absurdity of precious Noonas cooking for love despite mortal danger is the spice, and reminds me of Lucille Ball’s antics in ‘The Long, Long Trailer’ (1953).
Hello Alex: I am really interested in seeing the whole interiors of these Nonna’s tiny homes. The wall paper and décor is very much more like we older grandmas and the new tiny home designs are mostly modern, cabin like with lots of wood. Those are lovely, but the wall paper and furniture in these are things we identify with. Would you research this and send out a newer current newsletter on possibly seeing these tiny homes again. Thank you. Tifeni
I give it two thumbs up for fun, entertaining and cute tiny homes! All of the short videos were pure joy, for me! Thanks for sharing! Suzanne
Fabulous. Every little thing. Love the nonnas.
i love it! those houses are adorable! reminds me of my little tiny italian grandma….she’s an angel in heaven…this brings back so many memories…ty alex…
It is so illegal for them to cook in the home, while it is moving down the road. VERY dangerous, too.
Here is the Blessed Peace!….of the Senses
Haha.. I love it when tiny house people pull up to gas up their house 😀
So silly, I lova da sausage!
I always wanted a crazy Italian family and esp. a Nonna growing up. I think I would have had a lot more fun with a sense of laughter and freedom! My kind of people!
Not sure what the point of these ads was to be honest. The ofpdd Hollywood style Italian accents don’t help, there are quite a few Italians living near where I am but none speak English like this, certainly they don’t add an ‘a’ onto the end of every word. In addition the thought of lasagna or meatballs made from sausages is revolting. Sausage meat (as in stuffging) maybe but I guess the sausage is something peculiar to US. Like the outside of the tiny homes though even if we are expected to believe they can cook and answer the phone whilest being illegally driven on the roads. By the way, why do ALL these THoWs require such a huge vehicle to tow them? Would be easier and cheaper to have them carted on a trailer while the owner drives a little (1l) smart car or similar. I’ve noticed almost everyone says they are looking to reduce their carbon footprint etc but then the pictures show these huge gas guzzling polluting vehicles needed to tow them. One cancels out the other. Weird and seemingly inexplicable.