A house in the countryside, a beautiful display of delicious products from olive oil, parmigiano cheese, and ham, and the careful work of a pasta maker are the simple images chosen by film director Silvio Muccino to celebrate the “Extraordinary Italian taste” in a public campaign launched to raise awareness in America about authentic Italian food.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/jbPoGYETFBM[/youtube]
The video directed by the Rome-born filmmaker and actor and produced by Brand Cross has been released in the US as part of an unprecedented €50 million anti-counterfeiting campaign launched by the Italian government to promote a culinary tradition that suffers from the so-called “Italian sounding” phenomenon, a €60 billion business where products such as “parmigianito” are sold under fake Italian symbols. The campaign curated by advertising agency Brand Portal will be shown during the Christmas holidays on the billboards in Times Square in New York, and broadcast online and on TV.
The video, which shows a chef making fresh pasta from flour and a young woman walking barefoot in a field, intends to recreate the genuine values of tradition, quality and lifestyle that are the essence of the “made in Italy” image. The US market is the largest buyer of Italian agro-food and beverage outside of Europe, but protection of geographical names and transparent labeling remain among the most debated issues on the negotiating table for a bilateral trade deal between the US and the EU (TTIP).
“This is only the first step in a process to give value to our talent and culture,” Muccino said in a post on his Facebook page, where he presented the video.
Italy produces over 600 different kinds of cheese and has been the world leader in pasta making for over 500 years, the video says, calling on consumers to “Buy Authentic Italian, get more”.
