- What was the original brief for the campaign?
We started working with Barilla a year ago - when they first signed Roger – shooting a campaign where he had his first cooking lesson with Davide Oldani. It ended up being a really fun piece of work that had a huge number of views so the client challenged us to go bigger, bolder and more glamorous. Basically the perfect brief.
- What inspired you to approach the campaign this way?
We came up with simple Italian truth: the true recipe for the good life is simple. And then we had fun writing ideas off of that strategy.
That's why Barilla and Roger hijack a glamorous international gala with a masterful spaghetti puttanesca: to prove that a simple, perfect bowl of pasta can wow the most discerning guests on the biggest stage. And as the film concludes we all realise that the real party is always in the kitchen.
Once we had an idea that everyone loved we blew it up - developing scripts, working with Vogue Italia to hijack their fashion week party with Barilla pasta, dropping print ads into fashion magazines and shooting tonnes of super glamorous content for your social feeds.
- What was the biggest challenge you faced during the process?
Early in the briefing process the client challenged us to create a new food look for Barilla – something more Italian and ownable. So throughout the creative process we worked on a look and feel that we called “Mediterranean light”. The reason for this is that there’s a relationship between pasta and sunlight in Italy – warm, fresh light floods through windows as food is prepared, eating outside is common and meals are often prepared over a day and devoured when the sun is at its best.
This became our palette and once we moved into production we worked with the director, DOP and photographer to capture a world of food that feels truly unique to Barilla.
- What’s a “behind the scenes” story that only you know about?
Although the spot looks like it was shot on a beautifully sunny day it was actually four really long days late into the night. The lighting crew deserves a medal.
- Could you tell us who was finally the best pasta cook?
Roger has definitely been practising since we shot last year and he’s a dedicated man as his 100 tournament wins prove. He somehow glides majestically through anything we throw at him. But for now Oldani is still the master.
- Are you planning a next Barilla commercial with Federer as a chef?
We’re currently just beginning the strategy process again, with some really fun briefs floating around. Whether Roger ends up being a chef? Who knows… but we can guarantee we’ll be doing something fun.
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