FIAT went fully electric in 2020, temporarily halting its U.S. operations. But due to sustainability demand increasing among American consumers, Fiat decided it would introduce the electric version of its flagship car, the 500e, into the U.S. market in 2022 at the LA Auto Show.

With ⅓ of U.S. consumers reporting interest in purchasing an EV, FIAT knew the demand was there. The challenge, however, was finding a way to appeal to the young, environmentally conscious American market while still portraying the authentically Italian “La Dolce Vita” lifestyle.

Immediately, we knew that in order to make this campaign a success, we’d need to harness both cultural and audience engagement insights to create a spot that introduced the all-electric FIAT 500e to U.S. consumers in a way that was elegant, romantic, and funny–in other words, an EV that is uniquely Italian.

The spot features a busy coffee shop somewhere in Italy. The cafe is full of lively patrons, all looking to get their morning expresso, meet with friends, and get the day started. However, all the noise and chaos descends into pure silence and awe… a moment so rare, only something incredibly special could make it a reality. At this moment, the new, elegant, and fully electric 500e drives by. Ending with the quote “The only engine that could silence the Italians.”

We leaned on cultural narratives around Italian and Italian culture, to reignite FIAT’s brand heritage, and their CLV, as they navigated introducing the electric version of a beloved vehicle back into the American market. This creative idea was driven by the need to remain authentic to Italian roots, while also using a tongue-in-cheek voice that would appeal to youthful American values like freedom of expression,

Our market research showed that FIAT’s target audience was young Americans in urban environments with an affinity for tech, green living, music, and motorsport. This audience celebrates uniqueness, freedom of expression, and excitement toward life, and has no gender preference.

That’s why we used both female and male protagonists to expand the story’s appeal and create something unprecedented for the automotive industry. According to Kantar, just 43% of automotive industry ads are gender-balanced. We utilized an Italian creative team to stay authentic to FIAT's Italian roots and origins

Our research also found humor to be the most powerful creative enhancer of audience receptiveness, so we leveraged the power of ethos to strengthen our story. From there, “Il Barista” was born. Its tongue-in-cheek style helped Fiat break through generational and cultural boundaries to prove everyone can be amazed by the style and sophistication of an Italian electric vehicle.

Il Barista reached nearly 1M U.S consumers between its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and across its social media channels.

Furthermore, it was the top-performing social post on Instagram in November, performing 153.14% better than the average social post in November. It also had the highest engagement rate in November, performing 153.23% better than the average post.

Most proudly, Il Barista was the highest-performing social post among FIAT’s USA social media for all of Q4 2022.