FrancescaLavazza

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BOND BUSINESS
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FRANCESCA LAVAZZA
LAVAZZA CELEBRATES THE SENSUOUS JOYS OF COFFEE
AND PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE 20TH EDITION OF THEIR
ICONIC CALENDAR. FRANCESCA LAVAZZA IS THE FOURTH
GENERATION IN THIS FAMILY COMPANY. SHE BLENDS COFFEE
WITH PASSION, BUILDING A GLOBAL BRAND OF THE SENSES
EMBODIED IN FABULOUS PHOTOGRAPHS
Coffee culture, coffee calendars and even coffee
caviar, when it comes to coffee, the Italian family firm
of Lavazza has long been setting the pace. For
decades, the company has had some of the most innovative and creative ideas, and some of the most
eye-catching advertising campaigns in the world.
the jewellery. Francesca described it as “a refined,
sumptuous, sensual, ironic calendar, futuristic and full
of history.” The calendar was given a glorious launch
at Versailles where bewigged footmen dispensed
glasses of champagne and cups of coffee.
The iconic series of Lavazza calendars is the inspiration behind each year’s press and marketing
campaigns. Francesca Lavazza, as Corporate Image
Director, shapes and drives these annual celebrations
of coffee and style – quintessentially Italian.
In our suitcase we pack always
our brand values – pleasure, quality,
creativity and the Italian spirit
Now celebrating its 20th edition, these showcases for
conceptual photography attract the world’s top
photographers and have attained a cult following.
The calendars cannot be bought but are exclusively
distributed, their arrival eagerly awaited.
Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz generated an
enormous amount of awareness when she was enticed
to shoot the 2009 calendar, with “Italianism” as the
theme. For January/February, the myth of Romulus and
Remus – the baby twins, suckled by a she-wolf, who
went on to found Rome – was given a modern twist: the
she-wolf was an enigmatic diva queen in a fur wrap,
part protector, part predator. Another striking image
illustrated September/October. It featured supermodel
Elettra Wiedemann, daughter of actress Isabella
Rossellini, reclining naked on a gigantic plate of pasta.
Francesca joined Lavazza’s board in 2001, after
working for the Armando Testa advertising agency
and studying screenwriting at the New York Film
Academy. She cites sport and cinema as her
hobbies, but her passions are screenwriting, photography and design. Although she once dreamed
of writing and working for the cinema, she is more
than content to channel her passions into the company’s strategy and interests.
The first choice of photographer for the calendars
was Helmut Newton, known for his sensuous images
of women in dramatic monochrome, perfect for conveying the passion for coffee. Shot in Paris and Monte
Carlo, the erotic pictures were highly charged. His
calendars for 1993 and 1994, like many that followed,
have become collectors’ items. One of the most ambitious editions was Finlay McKay’s 2008 calendar,
echoing the French and Chinese imperial courts.
Vivienne Westwood provided costumes, and Damiani
“Working with Annie Leibovitz ... was an intense,
unique and certainly emotional experience,” said
Francesca. Leibovitz said: “The Lavazza calendar has
a rich and varied tradition and is an ideal opportunity
to use your imagination. The creative concept
I wanted to express is clearly evident in the production process and in the various paths which have all
led to the creation of these iconic images.”
To celebrate the calendar’s 20th edition in 2012,
Francesca created the “Lavazza con te partirò”
(“Lavazza, with you I will leave”) project, whose
title derives from the chart-topping song “Con te
partirò”. This combines an exhibition, a photographic
monograph based on the calendars and a digital
design into a memorable and striking communication.
Helmut Newton, Ellen von Unwerth, Ferdinando
Scianna, Elliott Erwitt, David LaChapelle, Annie
Leibovitz, along with the other photographic masters
are represented in the monograph. Published for the
first time together, the 20 calendars become
a unique creation. It is a journey of seduction and
taste, of pleasure and beauty, told through the pop
and dreamlike vision of Fabio Novembre. In this path
of images, the female figure is an icon and a guide
through a parallel world, navigated with the original
drawings by Milo Manara and the narration of
Vincenzo Cerami. The book celebrates the increasingly intimate relationship between photography
and espresso. In the words of Francesca, “They are
two products of our time, giving an immediate taste
and representing the reality that surrounds us.”
Not a celebration of the past, but a look to the future.
The exhibition, with photographs from the past 20
years, was curated by Fabio Novembre and held to
great acclaim at the Milan Triennale in the autumn,
a mirror of the artistic and architectural culture of
Italy. Alongside the established photographers were
the works of three newcomers, winners of Lavazza’s
worldwide search for new talent. Participants and
fans of photography, “the eighth art”, illustrated
themes like travel and seduction.
Francesca sums up the philosophy of the calendars
in the marketing of Italy’s most popular coffee, “For
years we have used concise, immediate and evolving
languages, and from this perspective the calendar
has represented the cutting edge of our communications. It’s a stimulating starting point, thanks to the
blend of video, art, photography and the internet.”
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© Francesca Lavazza
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© Lavazza Calendar Annie Leibovitz, Moda 2009
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BOND BUSINESS
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FRANCESCA LAVAZZA TALKS TO BOND
WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST MEMORIES OF COFFEE?
The aroma of coffee in the morning from my father’s
cup and the taste of the sugar with a drop of coffee
that he would often make for me.
HOW DO YOU DRINK YOUR COFFEE?
I drink espresso with a spoonful of sugar. But I also
love cappuccino.
HOW MANY CUPS A DAY?
Three or four cups a day.
AS AN ITALIAN WOMAN, WHAT DOES FASHION MEAN
TO YOU?
To me, fashion means the ability to express myself
through what I am wearing, without the need for
words or gestures. It is a style that allows me to
interpret different ways of being. When travelling,
often it is very easy to spot an Italian from their
clothing, because we are always attentive to details
and accessories.
positivity, just like espresso. Our models on the set
were free to interpret all of the diverse situations, definitely with the help of the talented photographers who
left plenty of room for interpretation and playfulness,
giving free reign to the different characters of each
model: their personalities, their ways of interpreting a
diverse aspect of the coffee, their characters, fill up
the photographs and make them one of a kind.
Women played a leading role also on the other side
of the lens, highlighted by the two major photographers Ellen von Unwerth and Annie Leibovitz with
their extraordinary personality, who employed their
powerful creative forces to create the Lavazza
calendar, and who fully captured the expressive
power of the models on the set.
WHAT QUALITIES DOES TODAY’S CONTEMPORARY
WOMAN POSSESS?
Autonomy, intelligence, sensitivity.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR WORK/HOME LIFE?
To simultaneously be a mother and a businesswoman, it is necessary to have a supportive family.
This is true for men as well women: it would be almost
impossible alone.
We work to keep the old traditions
with a strong focus on the pleasure
a cup of coffee can afford
YOU TEND TO FEATURE WOMEN IN YOUR CALENDARS.
WHY IS THIS?
Women are the ideal testimonials for coffee: warm,
sensual, mysterious, but also full of energy and
HOW DOES THE LAVAZZA CALENDAR FIT INTO THE
COMPANY’S STRATEGY?
We need an immediate, dynamic, ever-changing
language to give our brand a voice at international
level. This is why we chose photography as a means
of communication. We speak through the images
of our calendar, which are part of a much broader
communication project. The objective of the
strategy underlying this project is to create a strong
impact and build brand awareness. Each year
we choose a theme that represents us and a
photographer who can interpret this theme. It’s like
starting on a journey. In our suitcase we pack
always our brand values – pleasure, quality,
creativity and the Italian spirit. And our coffee cup.
THE 2010 CALENDAR WAS ABOUT MUSIC; 2011
WAS ABOUT LOVE. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM
THE 2012 CALENDAR?
2012 is an important year for our calendar since
it is the 20th edition with 12 photographers. It is
therefore appropriate to pay homage to the
photography, but above all to the photographers,
men and women, who helped us to build this
important gallery. They will be the real stars of this
edition of the calendar, representing with talent and
a sense of irony their personal relationships with
coffee and with Lavazza.
WOULD YOU YOURSELF EVER MODEL IN ONE OF
YOUR LAVAZZA CALENDARS?
But I am already in all of the photos: with our
espresso.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS?
On the go. Always.
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© Lavazza Calendar Miles Aldridge – Marzo 2012
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© Lavazza Calendar David Lachapelle – Novembre 2012
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BOND BUSINESS
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© Lavazza Calendar Annie Leibovitz – Septembre 2012
The Lavazza company was conceived in 1895 by
young Luigi Lavazza in Turin, beginning a dynasty
that his great-grandchildren continue today,
with outlets in over 90 countries and a turnover of
€1.1 billion. In 1910 his fortunes took off when he
distinguished the company through the quality of
their coffee and the innovation of coffee blends in
Turin – a consistent style and taste associated with
a brand rather than a bean.
Good coffee and good photography
are universal languages
In the 1950s, “Povero ma moderno” (poor but modern) was the ethos of Armando Testa, whose Testa
Studio has been involved in some of the company’s
best-known campaigns. Luigi’s grandsons took
Lavazza into the limelight, and helped to give the
grey post-war world a taste for good coffee. They
brought in Armando, who headed the first major
advertising agency in post-war Italy, to start a poster
campaign. Lavazza became known for its press and
radio advertisements with the slogan “Paradiso in
tazza” – heaven in a cup.
This attention to quality, strong marketing and the
constant research and innovation underpins the
company’s success over 50 years. During this period,
Lavazza has developed its marketing with the the
new communications media. Its Italian TV commercials starring the characters of Caballero and
Carmencita are memorable, as was the Italian comic
actor Nino Manfredi, so often rescued by or entangled in difficulties created by his housekeeper. Their
catch phrases soon became household sayings:
“Più lo mandi giù, più ti tira su” (“The more of it you
get down, the more it picks you up”).
In the 1980s the company expanded rapidly around
the world, as far as Brazil in the west, and India to the
east. In a changing world, the company took its global
responsibilities seriously, backing Slow Food projects
and launching social initiatives in Latin America. In
more recent years, a worldwide network of Training
Centres with more than 40 coffee laboratories has
been established to pass on the skills and secrets of
making the best espresso and all you need to know
about coffee. A commitment remained to design
excellence. With Ferran Adrià and other top chefs, the
company’s Training Centres have devised new coffee
experiences, such as “coffee caviar”, while Espression
concept stores have sprung up from Chicago to Seoul.
In a newspaper interview, Giuseppe Lavazza said:
"We work to keep the old traditions and to have
a great focus on the pleasure a cup of coffee can
afford. It's like running a clothes boutique, where you
choose certain clothes to give a look, philosophy and
style. We do something similar with coffee."
Since 2002, under Francesca Lavazza’s direction, the
expansion to international markets has been coupled
with press and outdoor campaigns, engendered from
the creativity of the striking Lavazza calendars, which
are produced each year in collaboration with worldfamous photographers such as David LaChapelle,
Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Ellen von Unwerth, Finlay
MacKay, Annie Leibovitz, Miles Aldridge and Mark
Seliger
.
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© Lavazza Calendar Thierry Le Goues – Febbraio 2012