ZaZa

A slice of New York City attitude

A large delicious pepperoni pizza is emblazoned with the ZaZa logo

When incredible pizza is on every block, how does a legacy pizzeria stand out and revive its fortunes? Will it fade out like so many mom and pop stores of old? Or can it reinvent itself for another generation?

The answer lay in the streets of midtown Manhattan. The famous New York attitude virtually drips onto the sidewalk. Our proposal leant into the wise-guy attitude, with a sprinkle of Gen Z non-chalance–yet firmly tongue-in-cheek. We proposed a brand identity anchored in the famous New York attitude, heavy on defiant copywriting, with bold colours popping-off against grainy black and white street photography. The wordmark logo draws inspiration from midcentury Italian design and can be repeated as a pattern. Proud of their patch, the work is almost always emblazoned with their neighbourhood.

With a less-than-modest distrust of social media (‘that pencil-neck geek Zuckerberg!’) and a slim marketing budget, fly posters were the ideal way to broadcast their message–aimed primarily at locals and passing visitors.

Services
Brand identity
Art direction
Copywriting
Campaign

Team
Sam Ashby

A large red geometric ZaZa logo is intersected with a black and white photo of the restaurant owner.
An exterior mockup of the ZaZa restaurant exterior signage with large repeating logo across the shutters.

The ZaZa wordmark repeats for an eye-catching street level design.

Branded red pizza boxes site stacked on a midtown bench.
A grid of ZaZa brand red and tan pizza boxes on a concrete surface.
A chef makes pizza in the restaurant kitchen.
A torn ZaZa sticker is plastered on a New York street sign.
Red and tan flyers litter a table.

Pepperoni. Buffalo Chicken. White Clam. Amazing slices, but not unique. ZaZa instead differentiates by leaning into its rough-around-the-edges street attitude.

A red fly-poster features the slogan 'Always midtown. Never mid.'

Bold colours and simple layouts keep the message on point. It’s just pizza after all.

A tan fly-poster features the slogan 'All drip. No grease.'
A large poster features an 80's business man holding a slice of pizza, with large read type reading 'The original New York City power lunch.'

Afraid of nobody, and definitely not experimentation, concepts were first explored with AI.

A pedestrian walks past a poster on the street.
A large poster features two men in a convertible, with the slogan 'No weak sauce.'
An employee wears a t-shirt that says 'Slaps hard. Like grandma.'

Do yourself a favour, next time you’re in midtown, don’t be a stranger

A woman walks across a typical New York intersection, holding a slice of pizza to go.

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