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ILLYCAFÈ SAYS HAPPINESS IS WHAT CONNECTS EVERYONE IN THE COFFEE CHAIN

Italian coffee company, illycaffè, believes that everyone in the coffee supply chain is on the same journey for a quest for happiness. This is the message they have used to build a new marketing campaign called, “Welcome on the Road to Happiness”.

The advertisements started showing in the UK and abroad early this month. The campaign message is that despite our differences, we are all fundamentally after the same thing – a quest for happiness.

The company achieved their B Corp certification this April. Certified B Corporations are businesses that have a determined social purpose, and meet a high level of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability that is then verified through audits.

This new inclusive message presents happiness as a circular path inside the coffee industry, from the original source of farmers to the end of the chain of consumers.

This is showcased through clips of coffee growers, coffee experts who select the Arabica varieties that make the unique illycaffè blend, baristas making coffee and providing the ultimate coffee experience over-the-counter, customers enjoying their cup of joe, and artists contributing their finishing aesthetic touches.

Michelangelo Pistoletto, an Italian artist who has been working with illycaffè for over 20 years, can be seen making an appearance in the campaign video.

This campaign also emphasises illycaffè’s brand concept, represented by three components: product quality, social and environmental sustainability, and its relation to creativity. The company’s CEO, Massimiliano Pogliani, said: 

The campaign aims, first and foremost, to communicate what has been driving illy for more than three generations: the mission to offer the best coffee in the world and make people smile. But there’s also a deeper meaning to this: implementing the great values of our time, as conceived by a company based on ethics, promoting shared wellbeing and looking at the future with optimism and hope

André Stringer, an American director, writer and artist, led the filming. He focused on the essence of the “circular path” and directed the camerawork to reflect that.

Stringer also mentioned that coffee gives the opportunity of connection between people, and the social aspect is repeated throughout the ad campaign video. It’s evident that the creative approach to the “Welcome on the Road to Happiness” campaign aligns well with its message on happiness.

Author

  • Azra Syakirah

    organisation:

    Azra Syakirah spends much of her time travelling asia, photographing and writing about cafe's and coffee experiences. She has lived in Malaysia, Singapore, and more recently Japan, where she resides in the capital, Tokyo.

2 thoughts on “ILLYCAFÈ SAYS HAPPINESS IS WHAT CONNECTS EVERYONE IN THE COFFEE CHAIN”

  1. I don’t think coffee farmers would agree with this marketing campaign, regardless of Illy’s good intentions. At the end of the day farmers need to be paid real money for their crop, not be the poster children for company’s efforts to increase their market share or find “happiness”. In the 1970’s the ratio of what a farmer received and what a retailer received was 1:3. These days it is between 1:10 and 1:20. The companies are making a killing, not a living. Don’t worry, be happy.

    1. That is also true. I wondered about the campaign being a bit tone-deaf, but on the other hand, I’d prefer to give column space to a major coffee company that builds out a B Corp certification and seems to be making an effort. I noticed you’ve also got your B Corp certification at https://deansbeans.com/ I’d love to hear how you rate the value of that accreditation.

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