The History of BARILLA’s Communication The History of BARILLA’s Communication «The Joy of Being Together» THE FIRST BRAND: THE BARILLA BOY The first corporate Barilla brand, registered on July 17, 1910 and desig- ned by the sculptor Emilio Trombara, was a colorful picture depicting a young blonde boy (the Garzone, or Apprentice) pouring the yolk of a lar- ge egg into a kneading trough full of flour. A simple and straightforward tale, easily recognizable even by those who could not read (at the time almost half of Italy’s population). THE PARTNERSHIP WITH CARBONI From 1952, the architect and illustrator Ernesto Carboni developed the whole coor- dinated image of the company: from the new trademark – the name Barilla inserted inside the shape of an egg – to the advertising campaigns, from trade fair stands to the famous packaging, all the way to the restyling of the company’s vans. Thebrilliantadcampaign“ConpastaBarillaèsempredomenica”(WithBarillapastait’s always Sunday), designed by Carboni, won the Palme d’Or in 1952, the highest award in the field. THE TV ERA In 1958, among those featuring in the first sets of Italy’s evening TV commercials was Barilla, which proposed a series of fairy tales, from Puss in Boots to Sleeping Beauty. That same year, the company subsequently chose the path of promoting its products via celebrities, entrusting the young but already established director Giorgio Alber- tazzi with the task of “bewitching” the dense ranks of consumers. In 1959 Albertazzi was replaced by the more light-hearted playwright Dario Fo. 1965-70: MINA IS SINGING TONIGHT Directed by great directors from the big screen and television, the popular Italian singer Mina was to personify the Barilla brand throughout the late sixties with her charm and uncon- ventional elegance. The singer performed variants of her most famous songs. On the cover “La Pasta del Buon Appetito” (The Pasta You Enjoy), Ernesto Carboni poster for the 1952 campaign. The History of BARILLA’s Communication In 2009, forty years later, Mina returned – this time only as the narrator – in a series of commercials based on the values that had always been at the centre of the company’s advertising – family, children, friendship – and the “Joy of Being Together”. THE “MULINO” (MILL) PHILOSOPHY In 1975, Mulino Bianco brand was founded, embracing bread substitutes and new ba- kery products, cookies and snacks. The brand was to contribute decisively to relaun- ching the company’s image, also through advertising. A SIGN OF RENEWED OPTIMISM In 1979, Pietro Barilla repurchased the family business from the multinational corpora- tion W.R. Grace & Co. which had bought a majority of its shares in the early ‘70s. Values such as optimism, good mood, and the joy of eating well in good company formed the backdrop to the campaigns “Barilla… e ritrovi il gusto del Mezzogiorno” (1982) e “Barilla vi fa sentire sempre al dente” (1984). FEDERICO FELLINI In 1984, Pietro Barilla entrusted Federico Fellini – the undispu- ted master of Italian cinema – with the making of a short “am- biance” film. The commercial, originally dubbed “High Society” (but soon renamed “Rigatoni”, 1985) was a tribute to cinema and pasta, a food seen as fit fit for the international elite. In 1989, the Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov was to propose a personal remake, set in Moscow. WHERE THERE’S BARILLA, THERE’S HOME At the end of 1985, a commercial called “Train” created by Gavino Sanna launched a successful series of ads focusing on feelings and emotions tied to “Homecoming”. Thanks to a renowned melody from the pen of Greek composerVangelisand the claim “Dove C’è Barilla C’è Casa – Where There’s Barilla There’s Home”, this series of com- mercials helped rebuild the company’s reputation. The “Homecoming” theme, accompanied by the historic claim, would return in ensuing years (1999-2002), sealing the equation: pasta-home-Barilla. The History of BARILLA’s Communication THE “SORPRESINE” Starting from 1983, the Mulino Bianco snacks came with the Sorpresine – literally “little surprises” – born from a partnership with Graziella Carbone: small gift items (playing cards, erasers in the shape of snacks, items for school, stickers, etc.). destined to beco- me cult objects in the eighties. 1990: A REAL MILL MATERIALIZES Images by Film director Giuseppe Tornatore, accompanied by the notes of composer Ennio Morricone, brought to life a new page in the history of Mulino Bianco: a real, thirteenth century mill in Chiusdino, in the rolling hills of Tuscany near Siena). 1993-2002: COMMUNICATION IN EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD To penetrate foreign markets Barilla focused on high level testimonials, as high as the quality of its own pasta: among others, the actor Gérard Depardieu for France, the tenor Placido Domingo for Spain, and tennis players Steffi Graf and Stefan Edberg for Germany and Sweden. SPORTS PEOPLE, AMBASSADORS OF A HEALTHY DIET Starting with its historic sponsorship of football team AS Roma, which won the Italian league in the 1982-83 season, there are many examples of partnerships between the Barilla Group and the world of sport. They include skier Alberto Tomba, tennis star Steffi Graf, cyclist Francesco Moser and motorcyclist Valentino Rossi, alongside the more recent partnerships with Federica Pellegrini, Ricardo Kakà, Stephan El Shaarawy and Mikaela Shiffrin. For some time now, there has also been a special relationship between Barilla and Alex Zanardi, Olympic gold medal winner at the 2012 Paralympics. Since June 2015, Barilla is the main sponsor of the Italian national basketball team. Sport is all about energy, passion and commitment, just like Barilla pasta: positive energy that sets life alight, feeding passions and turning them into winning feats. For this reason, pasta is not just a vital food for athletes; it is also an essential source of carbohydrates for all those who need vitality and taste to keep pursuing their dreams. The History of BARILLA’s Communication 1994-1995: VIVA IL BLU “Viva il Blue” (Long Live Blue) leveraged the brand value symbolized by Barilla’s tradi- tional blue pasta box,with commercials starring VIP testimonials such as model Cindy Crawford, skier Alberto Tomba – then at the height of his success - and Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari. Tomba, who is from Bologna, the capital of the Emilia Romagna region famous for lasagne and other kinds of egg pasta, was also to link his name to the promotion of the pasta Emiliane line, which accompanied him as sponsor from 1994 to 2000. WIM WENDERS CELEBRATES BARILLA’S 125 YEARS OF LOVE FOR PASTA In2002,Barillacelebratedits125yearsofloveforpastawithashort company film: a tribute to its consumers, dedicated to the timeless value of work, created by the great film director Wim Wenders, with a screenplay by Alessandro Baricco, a popular Italian writer. The final claim: “The work goes on. Since 1877”. THE MILLER, ANTONIO BANDERAS In2012,MulinoBiancoopeneditsdoorstothepublicforthefirst time, with a new TV campaign inspired by the cinema focusing on the spirit of the brand: sincere, close to people, committed to creating a “good world” for people and for the planet. At the he- art of everything, the good old “knowhow”, this time embodied in a new figure: the Miller, played by the versatile Spanish actor Antonio Banderas. AN EVEN BETTER PASTA In June, a new Barilla pasta arrived on Italian shelves, one that is even better thanks to durum wheat semolina with a higher protein content and an optimization of the shape geometry and the production process. To tell the story of what has become the symbol of Italian cuisine in the world, Barilla has picked a great Italian actor, Pierfrancesco Favino, directed by Oscar-winner Gabriele Salvatores. The choice of two great Italian artists takes the story of Barilla products back to the times of the commercials shot by Federico Fellini in the 1980s, and to great international testimonials later on, such as Paul Newman in the US, Gérard Depardieu in France and Steffi Graf in Germany. Shooting was made in Parma, at the Barilla plant, home to the world’s largest pasta factory. .