You Always Remember Your First

The students in my NYU class came from such a diverse background of experiences and cultures -- it was fascinating to hear all of their perspectives.

In this, the final post this week dedicated to my marketing class, one of the students writes about her very first brand experience, and how it still sticks with her today. I'm sure all of us can remember our first meaningful brand experience.

What's your experience, Simonetta? Jim.

I can still remember the first time. How could my first brand experience still be so strong and stuck in my mind after decades?!?

I was only 6 years old, and probably watching some cartoon on television. When the commercial started, there was a cute little cat ... "Dove c' e Barilla c' e casa," said the tagline ... "Where there is Barilla there is home".

As soon as I heard it, I was grasping for the meaning. What did this stand for? No Barilla, no home?

Such a stupid idea, I thought, my house was a home even without Barilla.

"We don't have Barilla, Mum, do we?" I asked. "Go see it," she replied.

So I went climbing up on a chair in the kitchen to open the pantry. Speechless. It was true, there was Barilla in my house!

In my mind as a little girl, from that moment on, Barilla was always in any real home. And Barilla has never strayed from this message. It's a brand for families, for people who believe that families matters. People who cook and eat together in a genuine way. The brand experience has been consistent all these years.

For me, Barilla is an essential part of a home. There may be better quality pasta available, however no brand is like Barilla because of the feeling it gives me. Even today, no matter where I am, I always search for Barilla in every supermarket. Whenever I see it, I buy it so that I can have a piece of my Italian home even away from home.

- Simonetta Tortelli, NYU Student