ADVERTISING ART IN ITALY
DIE GEB RAUCHS GRAPH IK IN ITALIEN
L'ART PUBLICITAIRE EN ITALIE
tutti leggono i periodic! Mondad
Carlo D in e Ili
[Deutscher Text: Seite 433]
T ncredible as it may seem, there are in Italy no professional
J- schools of advertising. The commercial and the fine graphic
artist, and for that matter even the advertising agent, are here
self-taught with the exception of the few who have had the
means and the opportunity of studying abroad or of working
under the direction of foreign experts.
While home markets are influenced by the fluctuations of
world trade and by the course of world history, it remains a
fact that commerce cannot do without advertising, either for
home sales or for export. Yet only thirty years ago there were
precious few Italian firms and those mostly the very large
concernswhich realised that advertising, to be a success,
must be carefully planned and carried through on a large scale.
The smaller enterprises either regarded it as a luxury or were
simply unable to afford it. In the long run, however, it became
clear that the big firms were flourishing while the small ones
only just managed to keep above water. And the character of
Italian commercial art took on a more distinct form as the
recognition of this fact gradually imposed itself.
[Textc frangais: page 443]
The outbreak of war put a damper on the new enthusiasm
and lamed the efforts made. It was now a matter of "putting
it over" to the public on entirely new lines. But this too had
its good points: a beginning was made in the study of the
personality as such and in research into the reactions of the
various sectors of the population. Everybody at that time
depended on his neighbour.
After the war an unexpectedly rapid development set in.
Advertising became one of the pillars of reconstruction. While
an enormous capital was being invested in the re-establishment
of national trade, it proved necessary to back up the great pro
duction efforts with equally great efforts in the advertising field.
Whereas in Italy publicity campaigns on the grand scale
are hardly ever launchedwhat is done in this line embodies
too little planning to deserve the name of campaignmedium
advertising schemes are today the rule. They include a limited
number of advertisements in the daily press, a few announce
ments in illustrated periodicals, possibly a poster and a series
of radio transmissions. The poster is mostly regarded as an
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