For World Pasta Day on 25 October, Barilla partnered with the New York City subway on a new campaign where its pasta boxes acted as tickets, allowing people to travel through its boroughs to share a meal with loved ones. OMD Italy designed an OOH activation on the New York subway.
Barilla transformed ‘Spaghetti n°5’ boxes of pasta into “Togetherness Tickets”, granting passengers a complementary subway ride. A Barilla newsstand outside the Hudson Yards subway station provided a giveaway of Barilla pasta boxes. Once at the subway entrance, a technological insert allowed boxes to open the turnstile, letting the traveler pass through like a regular ticket would do.
“At Barilla, we recognise that some of the most treasured memories in life are formed around the table with loved ones, but demanding schedules can pull us apart from what matters most. This World Pasta Day, we are providing families and friends the opportunity to reconnect and celebrate togetherness around a shared meal to foster deeper connections and enjoy moments that last a lifetime,” said said Ilaria Lodigiani, chief category & marketing officer, Barilla.
According to a global survey commissioned by Barilla in August 2023, 60 per cent of respondents confessed to eating alone more frequently over the past two years, forsaking shared meals for a quick bite on their own.
The primary reason cited for this shift toward solitary dining is busy work schedules. A significant 48 per cent of people surveyed lamented that their working hours kept them from sharing meals with their loved ones, highlighting the impact of our on-the-go lifestyles on quality time spent with family and friends. Additionally, geographical distances from family and friends contributed to the rise of solitary meals, with 37 per cent acknowledging it as a growing obstacle.
Although people are increasingly eating alone, as a resounding 63 per cent of people admitted to eating solo during the week, 93 per cent believe that regularly sharing meals has a positive impact on relationships with friends and family.
“The project combined many elements to create something relevant. Thanks to technology, which allowed us to turn a box of pasta into a real subway ticket, we entered people’s daily lives in an extremely simple and natural way. For this activation, the centrality and role of the product is the key element that brings attention back to the meaningfulness of connections between people and their friends or family members,” said Bruno Bertelli, global chief executive officer at LePub.
“Pasta has always created an opportunity for people to spend time together, and ‘The Togetherness Ticket’ is an explicit and tangible invite to make it happen,” added Bertelli.
“The project involved the entire OMD network, coordinated by Milan. Barilla and ‘Togetherness Tickets’ created a campaign with international reach. OMD US and OMD Italy worked side by side for a multichannel activation, amplified by the entire OMD network, in the full spirit of Togetherness,” said Francesca Costanzo, managing director of OMD Italy.
To promote the initiative and invite people to celebrate World Pasta Day with their loved ones, Barilla involved number 1 skier and 7-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin and Barilla Ambassador since 2012.
“As an athlete who’s constantly on the move, I understand the challenges of maintaining meaningful connections with friends and family. Barilla’s subway activation is a fantastic opportunity to remind everyone that no matter how busy life gets, taking a moment to share a meal with loved ones, especially over a delicious plate of pasta, is a source of strength and joy,” said Shiffrin.
Barilla has also given pasta lovers a chance to win a trip to reunite with loved ones.
