BEAUTY HAS A TASTE

Until quite recently, illy coffee was only found in specialized stores and special Illy cafes in Italy and Asia. They had no presence on the street in the most important retail space in the world: Manhattan.
They decided to take over a very ambitious space, the cavernous Mall in Columbus Circle. Over a period of 6 weeks, we created a red coffee bar on the ground floor and initiated a series of art installations, causing such a stir that regular shoppers thought the coffee bar was a permanent fixture. Maybe it was the free coffee. Illy has a commitment to art that extends to the design and tactile experience of the cup itself. Collaborating with renowned designer Matteo Thun in 1990, illy introduced the iconic espresso cup, and James Rosenquist in New York was commissioned for an original series. This use of the iconic cup inspired us to develop a fully loaded campaign that used illustrations on the outside of the cup.

AD-Tim Jones CW-Sheralyn Silverstein