Sanremo Music Festival is the biggest TV music competition in Italy and a pop culture event that creates huge buzz every year. Basically, the Italian Super Bowl. People watch it but a lot of them would never admit it. Especially Gen Z’s, as it’s considered to be both old-fashioned and for boomers.

We played on the concept of generational clash to rejuvenate the perception of the Festival and make it "socially" acceptable for young people to watch it too.

Thanks to the participation of an idol of the Gen Z, the trapper Tony Effe, and the use of an iconic song of the festival ("La Solitudine" by Laura Pausini) we have created the link between the DNA of the Festival and new generations, making them feel even more part of the event.

Spotify's core target is Gen Z, but during occasions such as the Sanremo Festival, which in Italy is the most important festival for Italian music, it can be extended to a wider target (up to 45 y.o. and beyond).

To embrace such a broad target, from Gen Z's to Millennials (and Boomers as well), we asked for the help a Gen Z idol juxtaposed with an iconic song from the Festival that both Boomers and Millennials could understand and appreciate.

The purposes were:

1) Making Spotify the music platform for young people for everything related to the Sanremo TV Festival, during the festival.

2) Turning Sanremo Festival into one of Gen Z's most relevant music events.

During each of the five Sanremo nights, Spotify aired a TVC in which Tony Effe, the most controversial trap star in Italy, sings the most traditional Sanremo hit: «La Solitudine» by Laura Pausini. The singer that people would have least expected to see, became a key part of the event. ​

The commercial launched the playlist that collects all the songs participating in the Festival «Sanremo 2022».

The campaign sparked a huge conversation on social media led by Gen Z, who made the commercial a trending topic every time it was on air, and made “Sanremo 2022” the second most streamed playlist on Spotify in the world. ​

During the days of the festival, and the following weeks also, the Sanremo 2022 playlist was the second most listened to in the world. Mahmood and BLANCO - the winners of Sanremo - have been featured in the world top 10 for weeks.