During Covid-19 lockdown, the image of two Italian girls (Carola and Vittoria) playing tennis on their rooftops became the universal symbol of resilience and unstoppable desire of getting back together.

By making Roger Federer play a new rooftop match with them, the brand message “Pasta brings people together” took root in a global audience, with Barilla emerging as a brand able to create bonds across and off the table.

The campaign was extremely viral and well received worldwide, being perceived as a communication success and "an AD more touching than many (Italian) TV shows" (Aldo Grasso, journalist and TV critic).

Barilla asked us to involve Federer, its brand ambassador, in a post lockdown activation focusing on a new definition of "togetherness" (one of the major pillars of Barilla’s communication).

In April 2020, the video of two young Italian girls (Carola and Vittoria) playing tennis from their rooftops during Covid-19 lockdown went viral, becoming a universal symbol of resilience and desire of getting back together. Carola and Vittoria are also major fans of Barilla’s brand ambassador Roger Federer.

Making Barilla's brand ambassador Roger Federer surprise his die-hard fans Carola and Vittoria on the same rooftops in Finale Ligure (Italy) that celebrated the unstoppable desire of getting back together during the lockdown.

By having Roger play a new rooftop match with them and sharing lunch afterwards, Barilla told the emotional and concrete story of the “New Togetherness” after Covid-19 that people were looking for, making this rooftop match famous all around the world.

Togetherness has always been a keyword for Barilla communication. But after Covid-19 togetherness wasn't something normal people can give for granted anymore.

Sentiment on Roger Federer, Barilla's Brand Ambassador, was extremely positive. Many among the champion’s fans acknowledged the class and “human” quality displayed by Federer on and off the court.

Also extremely positive was the sentiment on the two young Italian girls (and Federer's fans) that played on Finale Ligure rooftops. The viral original video of the girls attracted the sympathy of Federer community.

The main focus was on creating an emotional story of togetherness after Covid-19 and an amazing experience offered to the young tennis players by Federer and Barilla.

Launch Hero video on Barilla global channels YT (main)+ IG tv + TW + FB.

Posting on Roger Federer channels (RT of Barilla + video natively on IGTV + share in IG stories). Posting on ambassadors’ channels (Coco Gauff and ATP, both on TW and FB).

Start ADV campaign on YT Posting “Behind The Scenes" video.

The surprise was organized in Finale Ligure, right on the same rooftops on which the girls had played during the lockdown. The full version of the video was published on July 31st on all Barilla channels, on Roger Federer channels and other ambassadors (Coco Gauff, ATP).

On August 3rd the ADV campaign on YT with retargeting started. The next day we also posted a “Behind the scenes” on Instagram. The newspapers and news broadcasts around the world picked up the news in the following two months.

Total Reach: 3.6 Billion (3.612.335.840).

Total Readership (print): 1.3 Million (1.361.905).

Total Video Views: 35 Millions on all channels. 138k interactions.

The campaign was extremely viral and well received worldwide, being perceived as a huge communication success and “the best commercial of 2020 so far”. The Rooftop Match campaign recorded a reach of ~65 Mln on social media, of which 45 Mln earned and a potential audience of 573 Mln, mostly driven by the great audience reception of the video, which was widely shared and commented on. In addition, the campaign generated a total 35 Mln video.

The vast majority of comments had a positive sentiment (+86% brand net sentiment) with the campaign eliciting an emotional reaction in the audience. People praised the beautiful story shared by Barilla and the brand’s ability to make dreams come true. 240 main international news outlets explicitly mentioned the brand.