Nando’s Proves More Tempting Than Anthony Joshua in Fiery New Delivery Campaign

Fact: When you need a Nando’s, you can’t think about anything else. To show the power of a PERi-PERi craving and celebrate the launch of nationwide delivery, Nando’s is launching a new ad campaign filled with famous cameos. 

Directed by Rich Hall of Riff Raff Films, and produced by creative agency Phantom, each film puts one of Nando’s Gen-Z customers in an everyday situation, and interrupts it with both a Nando’s craving trigger and a famous cameo. The twist? Turns out that when you spot a Nando’s, you might totally miss Anthony Joshua standing in front of it, or when you see the word PERi, you don’t see the very real Perrie Edwards metres away from you.

The irreverent films are a celebration of Nando’s passionate fanbase. The hero of each high-energy, high-production sketch is always the customer, and the films’ unifying structure takes inspiration from social platforms and behaviours with each:

- featuring a vibrant soundtrack taken directly from the #NandosToilet challenge on TikTok

- including a pulse-heightening crashing Instagram-esque superzoom

- ending with a confident, conversational and in-your-face line: Now try think about something else

Leaning into the social-first nature of the creative idea, Nando’s is also launching an Instagram filter for fans to recreate the ads at home. Produced by Phantom, the filter dramatises the moment a Nando’s craving hits, so that people can share their over-the-top reactions with friends.

The brand building campaign also marks the first time that Nando’s has used some of their more famous fans in its advertising, including Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, England footballer Jadon Sancho, rapper Aitch and Capital Breakfast presenter Roman Kemp.

Challenging, in-your-face and deeply connected to culture, ‘Now try think about something else’ is a delivery campaign that refuses to show staged families eating in their living rooms, ignores over-stylised food shoots and forgets scripted celebrity appearances. Instead, it focuses on the hilarious ways a Nando’s craving interrupts everyday life, creating a confident, socially relevant campaign that only Nando’s could do.

The ‘Now Try Think About Something Else’ films are part of a wider, integrated omni-channel campaign by agencies Phantom, Born Social, PrettyGreen and Essence. The campaign will be rolled out on BVOD, digital, social and audio across three core strategic pillars. The first accentuates the overwhelming power of a Nando’s craving. The second empowers fans across the UK to own their Nando’s craving. And the third fuels the craving at key, hunger-filled moments of the day.

Hannah Smith, head of brand communications at Nando’s UK, said: “We wanted to celebrate our fans in a way that only Nando’s can with this series of lighthearted ads. We know times are tough at the moment, especially for our Gen-Z audience so we wanted to create something irreverent and positive that connects with our younger fans. We are thrilled to have worked with Phantom and Rich Hall to deliver a brand building campaign that is firmly rooted in the everyday culture that is important to us and our customers.”

Nando’s ‘Now Try Think About Something Else’ ad campaign airs from 14th July to 1st September across Audio, BVOD, YouTube, digital and social. Click here to check out the series or click here to try the Instagram filter.