The Americanization of Italian advertising during the 1950s and the 1960s

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on the Americanization of European advertising in the post‐war years as a phenomenon of cultural transfer and it aims to explore the interaction between the USA and Italian advertising traditions during the 1950s and the 1960s.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is in two parts. First, the role of those cross‐cultural mediators who contributed to changing marketing communication strategies of many Italian companies during the 1950s and the 1960s is studied. Second, the ways in which US advertising rules and patterns are combined with the local tradition in order to fit the Italian context of the post‐war years are looked at. The research is based on a study of the main USA and Italian marketing and advertising literature of the post‐war years, and on an analysis of press campaigns and TV commercials.FindingsThis research shows that during the 1950s and the 1960s, the conflict between the American approach and the Italian approach to advertising did not prevent interaction and negotiation. In the post‐war years, the USA know‐how and practices, are re‐interpreted through the process of transfer to Italy, creating original, and unexpected solutions.Originality/valueAlthough some research has been conducted on the Italian advertising scene during the post‐World War II years, the few existing contributions did not focus on the interaction between the imported American model and the local traditions. This paper provides a good overview of the ways in which notions, methodologies, and strategies coming from the USA are implemented.

A History of Historical Research in Marketing

“…The interest in histories of various aspects of marketing strategy, cited above, was also generally evident in periodicals and books that focused on advertising and promotion history (Beard, 2005;Branchik, 2007;Davis, 2007;De Iulio and Vinti, 2009;Fox, 1984;Gross and Sheth, 1989;Hawkins, 2009;Johnston, 2001;Jones et al, 2000;Kopp and Taylor, 1994;Laird, 1998;Lears, 1994;Marchand, 1985;Meyer, 1994;Mishra, 2009;Nevett, 1982;Pollay, 1984aPollay, , 1984bPollay, , 1985Pollay, , 1988aPollay, , 1988bPollay, , 1994Pollay and Lysonski, 1990;Pope, 1983;Robinson, 2004;Schudson, 1984;Sivulka, 1998;Stern, 1988;Witkowski, 2003), personal selling (Friedman, 2004), product simplification strategy (Hollander, 1984), product innovation (Keehn, 1994), channel management (Hull, 2008;Marx, 1985), segmentation strategy (Fullerton, 1985;Hollander and Germain, 1992;, branding (Bakker, 2001;Church and Clark, 2001;Duguid, 2003;Koehn, 2001;…”

The German advertising industry – from 1950 to 2018

“…This opened a gap for American network agencies to provide a full range of universal service activities by serving the whole value chain (e.g. from market analysis to campaign planning or campaign evaluation) as it was the case in Belgium and in Italy (Schröter, 1997; Pouillard, 2005; De Iulio and Vinti, 2009). Already in 1949, Hanns W. Brose (1899-1971) was one of the first German agency founders who recognized that the newly introduced American trend of full-service agencies urged German agencies either to grow, in order themselves to be able to offer such a universal service portfolio, or to remain comparatively small and to specialize (Schindelbeck, 1995).…”

“…In the last decade, scholars analyzed the impact of the expansion of the AAI on the rest of the world as well as how the growing American influence changed the conduct of advertising across the globe. Starting shortly after World War II, especially European agencies adopted the working methodologies, organizational structures, and business mentalities from the US advertising agencies (De Iulio and Vinti, 2009). Several studies examined this development by exploring how “the modernization of commercial practices, the introduction of marketing principles, and the rationalization of advertising led to a radical transformation of communication strategies” (De Iulio and Vinti, 2009, p. 270).…”

“…Starting shortly after World War II, especially European agencies adopted the working methodologies, organizational structures, and business mentalities from the US advertising agencies (De Iulio and Vinti, 2009). Several studies examined this development by exploring how “the modernization of commercial practices, the introduction of marketing principles, and the rationalization of advertising led to a radical transformation of communication strategies” (De Iulio and Vinti, 2009, p. 270). Researchers focused either on the general impact of the expansion of American advertising overseas, also referred to as “cultural imperialism” (Schwarzkopf, 2011) or on the “Americanization” of advertising in specific countries, such as Italy (De Iulio and Vinti, 2009; Fasce and Bini, 2015), Britain (Schwarzkopf, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c), Ireland (Whelan, 2014), and Australia (Smulyan, 2016).…”

“…Several studies examined this development by exploring how “the modernization of commercial practices, the introduction of marketing principles, and the rationalization of advertising led to a radical transformation of communication strategies” (De Iulio and Vinti, 2009, p. 270). Researchers focused either on the general impact of the expansion of American advertising overseas, also referred to as “cultural imperialism” (Schwarzkopf, 2011) or on the “Americanization” of advertising in specific countries, such as Italy (De Iulio and Vinti, 2009; Fasce and Bini, 2015), Britain (Schwarzkopf, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c), Ireland (Whelan, 2014), and Australia (Smulyan, 2016). However, a historical overview of the specific development of the GAI and the impact of the American influence on the GAI is largely absent.…”