Historically, Barilla has focused its campaigns on the creation of pasta dishes using its products. The new video campaign aligns with this strategy but has been adapted to appeal to a 2021 audience, highlighting the brand’s corporate social responsibility efforts to bring families together and help them to connect.

It positions Barilla as more than just a pasta brand but as a family product that can be integrated into consumer’s lives and relationships. The timely video nods to the difficulties of the pandemic, as globally people have struggled or been unable to communicate with loved ones.

Gianluca Di Tondo, global chief marketing officer at Barilla, says, “The brand has managed to rediscover the classicism of its most iconic campaigns, while adapting it perfectly to the challenges of our time. Today we all need to feel more human, closer, and a sign of love can make all the difference”.

It shows a selection of family relationships, from a father and son to a young brother and sister, in order to reach the widest audience of consumers. Each family has a distinctive character feeling tense or upset before receiving a meal of pasta from a loved one.

Saverio Costanzo, a popular Italian director in the television and film world, signs the video campaign, further enhancing the idea of storytelling and communication.

The music ‘Beautiful that Way’ by Noa, plays as a reinterpretation of the Oscar-winning soundtrack La Vita é Bella. By choosing music rather than narration, the soundtrack aligns with the campaign message that ‘a sign of love’ can be without words.

The new global brand positioning will launch through a communications platform involving digital, social, out-of-home and retail messaging. The global campaign in partnership with Publicis Italy will launch in 40 countries worldwide.