illy Inspires San Francisco with "LIVEHAPPilly" Campaign: "A never-ending story to offer the world our very best"

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Sep 09, 2019, 13:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- illy, a global leader in high-quality, sustainably sourced coffee, has brought its international advertising campaign to San Francisco featuring, and inspired by, the art of the world's most beloved tenor: Andrea Bocelli, who is scheduled to perform on December 5 at the city's new Chase Center.

Featuring Bocelli, illy's global brand ambassador, the new advertising campaign in San Francisco celebrates and illustrates a mutual belief that creating something unique, in every aspect, requires a daily, never-ending commitment to perfection; a commitment often invisible to all others that serves the ultimate goal of offering the world one's best, always. The creative gets to the heart of what it means to LIVEHAPPilly, which at its core is an enduring commitment to perfection that creates fundamental happiness for illy and Mr. Bocelli alike.

The campaign takes an authentic approach to illustrating the heritage of illycaffè, an 85 year-old company whose ongoing mission is to bring the world closer to the ancient Greek-rooted ideal of beauty and goodness intertwined: the foundation of illycaffè's own philosophy that inevitably creates stories of passion, and inspires exceptional dedication and attention to detail. Happiness for illy lives within the many complex steps required to perfect its unique blend of the world's highest-quality Arabica coffee.

"For illy, Andrea Bocelli represents a genuine ambassador who embodies our brand in every aspect, an artist who lives illy's core values in his daily life," said Massimiliano Pogliani, illycaffè CEO. "There is hardly any place better to celebrate his art and our brand than in San Francisco, a place where a love of culture and an appreciation for the best life has to offer go hand in hand."

Communicating the meaning of LIVE HAPPilly creatively and beautifully

Billboards featuring Bocelli's unmistakable image will adorn the financial district, San Francisco International Airport and select BART stations this fall. San Franciscans will also be invited to view a 60-second spot available at https://www.illy.com/en-us/company/live-happilly, which pays tribute to Bocelli's art and methodical professionalism. Filmed in elegant black-and-white, the spot tells the story of illy through values shared by artist and brand.

The artist is shown not on stage, as we are accustomed to seeing him, but rather in his everyday life, behind the scenes and with the people dearest to him: his wife, his eldest son on piano, and his friend, the master flautist Andrea Griminelli. We see him at home, in the rehearsal room, at a restaurant, and walking the streets of New York en route to the Metropolitan Opera House, where the narrative intensifies with his arrival on the stage: the moment in which happiness is achieved upon sharing his art with the world (in this instance, with the opening notes of the aria "Mattinata" by Leoncavallo). Finally, the kinship with illy is revealed, with the words, "perfecting who we are is a never-ending story to offer the world our very best."

Supporting videos, also shot in black and white, feature Mr. Bocelli, along with other notable individuals from the realms of art, music, design, cuisine and sustainability who embody illy brand values, in interviews revealing their inner thoughts about their passionate pursuit of innovation and continuous search for perfection, can be viewed on illy.com Internationally-renowned director and photographer Vincent Peters led the campaign, in which the emotionally-rich black-and-white imagery is accented by only the iconic "illy red" and the colors of illy products themselves.

The campaign is being supported through geo targeted mobile, digital and social media advertising across platforms including Spotify, Hulu, San Francisco Magazine, SF Gate, Yelp and SF Eater designed to build awareness and brand knowledge through videos that tell the brand's story with a focus on quality, sustainability and beauty. Additional initiatives include a sampling program featuring illy Ready to Drink coffee to entice coffee lovers to visit on of illy's seven cafes within the city, in addition to a partnership with AFAR Magazine to showcase winners of its 2019 Photo Awards (co-sponsored by United Airlines Mileage Plus), and sponsorship of the upcoming SECA exhibit at SFMOMA.

Andrea Bocelli scheduled upcoming U.S. concert dates include: November 7, 2019 - Hollywood, FL; December 5, 2019 – Chase Center, San Francisco, CA; December 7, 2019 – MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV; December 8, 2019 – Pechanga Arena, San Diego, CA; December 11, 2019 – AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX; December 12, 2019 – Toyota Center, Houston TX; December 14, 2019 – Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH; December 15, 2019 – Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.; December 18 & 19, 2019 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY.

About illycaffè

illycaffè is an Italian family-owned company founded in Trieste in 1933, which has always pursued the mission of offering the best coffee in the world. illycaffè produces a unique blend of 100% Arabica coffee, combining 9 of the best qualities in the world according to illy. Every day 7 million cups of illy coffee are enjoyed around the globe in over 140 countries, in the finest coffee shops, restaurants and hotels, in single-brand cafés and shops, and of course at home. The company's many innovations have contributed to important technological developments in the world of coffee. In 1991 the company founded the "Ernesto Illy Award for quality espresso coffee" in Brazil, promoting the sharing of expertise and recognizing the efforts of coffee growers by offering a higher price for what illy believes to be the best quality coffee. This has grown into a partnership based on the principles of sustainable development. The company also founded the Università del Caffè, an educational institution which strives to promote coffee culture at all levels, offering complete and practical training for growers, baristas and coffee lovers, and seeking to deepen the knowledge about every aspect of the product. Everything that is 'made in illy' is also enriched with beauty and art. These are fundamental values for the brand, from the logo designed by the artist James Rosenquist, to the cups of the illy Art Collection which have been decorated by over 100 international artists. In 2018 the company employed 1294 people and had a consolidated turnover of € 483 million. There are around 259 illy stores and single-brand stores around the world in 43 countries.

SOURCE illy