After more than a year of selling-in, production and micro-tuning, the Pasta Rummo institutional campaign is finally hitting the Italian airwaves. While there are several aspects of the spot that I would have preferred to maintain as-shot, as-edited, as intended (this is always the case, isn’t it?), I’m happy with the results. This is the reality of our freelance world. We work not only to serve the master of what we believe to be right, but also the master of who pays the bills and who feels, maybe more deeply than we do, that our work speaks for them personally.

““My grandfather used to say: “Time is the most precious ingredient.” I think about this every day. We accuse it of flying, when we’re the ones always running. But everything takes time. And the good things need even more. That’s why we work every day with care and precise method giving time with generosity to a love we share: Pasta. My grandfather was right. When it comes to the things that matter, there are no shortcuts.”

This is particularly true in a case such as this one, where the spot tells the story of the Italian family that has been making Rummo Pasta since 1846. Despite the fact that they are a moderately sized company, making a run for it against Barilla, Voiello and Garofalo, nothing sees the light of day without being minutely studied by the members of the family who also happen to run the company. Modern realities and best practices are, in the end, less important to them than the same painstaking approach they have toward making pasta.

The product, in this case, is a spot shot by director Roberto Badò together with a bespoke group of talented Italian professionals on location in southern Italy, capturing the reality that surrounds the role of pasta in Italian life. Authentically Mediterranean to its core, the spot is an honest portrayal of this deeply loved food, and a study of the notion that every true pleasure in life requires both time in the making and time in the enjoying. Even as time is fleeting and the events of our life rush by before we can commit them to memory, there are still no shortcuts when it comes to living well. That was true for generations past. And it’s true for us today. No changes there.

My sincere thanks to an amazing crew and a determined client, all of whom did everything in their power to bring this to life. (Client: Rummo, Spa, Presidente/A.D.: Cosimo Rummo, Direttore Generale Estero: Antonio Rummo, Direttore Generale: Guido Veronese, Marketing Manager: Amanda Biasi, Senior Product Manager: Daniele Proietti, Marketing Assistant and all-around Make-It-Happen Pixie: Alessandra Cataffo, Concept e Creative Director: yours truly, Charlotte Moore, Creative Team: Roberto Badò, Charlotte Moore, Giovanni Grauso & Mattia Bergonzi (Taxfree Film), Regia/Director: Roberto Badò, Second Unit: Taxfree Films, DP and accidental spiritual guru: Alessio Viola, Focus Puller: Maurizio Ianello, Data Mgr: Marco Angelloni, Art Buyer: Francesca Manuele, Production Mgr: Marina Bello, Production Coordinator: Francesco Cetta, Montaggio/Editing: The Truly Magical Vilma Conte, Colorist: Luca Parma/Corte 11, Post: Taxfree Film, Music: Flavio Ibba/Red Rose Production, Sound Design: Agostino Landi/Circle, Voice: Luca Ward.