Hiding from the police - Don Giulio Salumeria | Clapboard Ad Archive

Don Giulio Salumeria’s Hiding from the police campaign, developed by The 23 for the Russian market in the Food & Drink category, demonstrates the rare power of contextual storytelling in out-of-home advertising when a growing geopolitical crisis threatens both brand viability and consumer access. Set in 2014 amid the Russian food embargo, the campaign positions this small Italian deli in central Moscow as a defiant purveyor of authentic imports—Italian products like Parmigiano—using metaphor and symbolism to dramatize the brand’s struggle. Playing out across urban outdoor spaces, the creative narrative stages the grocery’s products as fugitives eluding the authorities, a trope that speaks directly to the tension and absurdity of the embargo without reverting to literal or didactic communication. In what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem, the campaign eschews direct political statements, instead leveraging a universally relatable motif of hiding and survival, which resonates powerfully with consumers denied the taste of real Italian cheese and cured meats. This narrative approach goes beyond mere cause marketing or topical opportunism; it remaps the consumer-brand relationship around shared resistance and nostalgia, giving Don Giulio Salumeria cultural relevance and emotional depth in an environment dominated by domestic alternatives and nationalistic messaging from giants like Miratorg, Cherkizovo, or Veles. The agency’s focus on a single, high-impact media asset in Russian maximizes relevance and engagement, as reflected in more than 600,000 views, while amplifying the campaign’s disruptive voice in the conversational landscape. Rather than overt calls to action or product demonstrations, the work relies on a playful but piercing analogy: imported delicacies are now precious enough to risk hiding, so the experience of Don Giulio is steeled with the thrill and camaraderie of eluding restriction, rather than just snacking on samplings. Such a creative device transforms adversity into brand equity, positioning the deli as not just a vendor but a guardian of threatened culinary heritage. The campaign earns 77/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. For the industry, this campaign stands as proof that even in high-pressure, heavily regulated environments, a deftly symbolic narrative can humanize a brand and galvanize consumer attachment.