Advertising in Italy - A Course in Cross-Cultural Living

Seeing that it's awards season, I thought I'd bring one of my periodic Advertising Age round-ups on where Italy stands in communicating their special gifts to the masses. I'm afraid to say that if it weren't for plastering posters all over every single surface in town, no one would pay attention to any of it, really - Even moreso now that they're no longer allowed to show T&A just to sell fruit juice and bathroom fittings. So, here are a few of the most recent adverts to catch my eye and tease my brain:

 

Now, I get this ad, I really do. But that's because I know English. Since I first came to Italy and was old enough to notice these things, Italians putting English script into every ad they make has always behooved and bewildered me. I mean, very few people know all that much English so so well; least of which the now grannies who do most of the food purchasing and cooking. As for guys looking to join the Navy? Maybe. After all, the Italian word, nave - meaning boat - is quite a close match. But I just hope these job applicants aren't thinking they'll be joining a cruise line and get to play laser tag or paint ball in the evenings. 

  

This ad promoting Pope Frank's special Jubilee Year in Rome definitely did the trick in grabbing my attention. Especially in this season that countries - Italy among them - are  engaged in controversial and often heated debates over gay rights and civil unions and all. So while vatican blowhards, spokesmen run off on the abomination that is homosexuality, while getting caught time and again in a host of scandals from pedophilia to, defacto liaisons, well, this image basically drives the point home -- on  bus tickets and posters on all the buses besides. The two popes, cuddling so joyously in a horizontal frame...leaves very little to the imagination.
Personally, I think the genius who came up with this ad is the same guy who thought up the name Soffass for a toilet paper line and entire personal products company. There simply is no other explanation.
 

Make Payments, Don't Make War

I love this company. And their brilliant adverts. In fact, around the world funerary companies are making the most sense (or, given the costs of funerals, the most cents, rather) in their witty ads. Taffo is the gift that makes anyone's morning commute come alive, so to speak. Ikea used to have ads like these, and so did the City of Rome - but both now have a serious sense of humor failure - don't ask me why. But, really? How poor can advertising be when the best ones are for no laughing matter? Regardless, this wins the day along with a lot of their other ones. You decide.
 

Advertising Age meets WTH?! in Italian Advertising

Quick!  What do you think this image is advertising?
for those who don't know Italian, it reads:  Quality isn't for everyone.

If you answered, 'prosciutto'.  You're half-right.  
Only because, great minds think alike and that's what I thought it meant.

I thought it was a charming message that the CETUS company (reminding me of Parma's popular prosciutto purveyors, Citterio) was serving up to remind us all...Where's the Pork?

But then I read the tagline.  Your home, par excellence.

And I seriously didn't know whether or not to be offended, I mean, were they calling us pigs?
Or, totally amused because they were calling the politicians feeding at the trough pigs?
So, I settled on something much more juvenile:  must be a reference to the three little pigs -- except there weren't three of them sitting on their haunches there, and where were the bricks and mortar?  Despite my lack of visual cues, I was pretty happy with my brain synapses and knew I could make a leap in logic just like the best of 'em.

But then I looked at the logo.  Expecting it to be one of the ubiquitous real estate companies [who hold a singular place in my Hall of Fame for seriously lousy adverts], I knew I'd be satisfied.  Instead it reads,  Ceramics & Home Furnishings.

I kid you not. 

So, if anyone out there can tell me the connection or, in reality, the non-connection between the pig and home furnishings, I'd be absolutely titillated to know...

As for my Advertising Age Ranking?  

Since pigs are so smart, I'm going to give it a healthy 52 years.

After all, the ad is truly working its charm because it 'had me' standing there for well over a minute pondering such issues and now taking their message (note: term used loosely) out to the web.

Advertising Age: The ongoing saga of Italy's strained relationship with brand image

Every so often I post incredible advertisements that truly capture my eye.  Not for the wit and charm in attracting my attention (although, when I do find a decent gem, I post that too - clearly trying for positive reinforcement in the consumer goods & services dept), but for the huge bubble that opens up over my head with an even larger ? overtop.

No sooner had I snapped this gem of an advertisement, than I saw UnAmericanaaRoma  post her own views on the subject matter.  Rightfully so, Shelley posed the ad as a Quiz:  Try and figure out just what she's selling.

As I remarked on her blog, first they tried a more serious picture of the blonde all dressed in clothes and just indicating the Big News, like a smart newscaster (well, make that a smartly-dressed newscaster in most every other country than Italy where cleavage is in the job description).  Her message?  You have a one-stop shopping place for all your bathroom fixtures.
Clearly, the ad didn't bring in the hoards of customers they were expecting.
So, they decided to really sex up bathroom tiles and had her get undressed.
Next, I expect to see her naked in the shower.

Just think -- once you’ve installed your very own bathroom on a hot, sweaty July day…you’ll come out looking and feeling fresh-faced and blooming as a Bella Rosa!

The adverts may not work, given that women make the ultimate purchase decisions.  But, I'm willing to bet that the Advertising Age of this ad (my usual ranking in terms of actual years in emotional maturity of the guy who made it) is actually somewhere around 69 and older.  Who else but someone who seriously needs their plumbing revamped would base their purchase decisions on the babe flashing her bathroom eyes? 

In my humble opinion, this ad actually works -- it appeals to all the builders and contractors that have to go get their fixtures shined somewhere.  And what better to turn on your faucet than Gruppo Ediltirrenia?  With any luck, they'll be greeted by a pouty blonde to ask them how they'd like their tubes greased...

For more Advertising Age Posts, including the good, the bad, and the ugly, click on the links below!

Advertising Age 6    

Advertising Age - Ancient Rome Edition

Advertising Age - London Edition

Advertising Age - Banking Edition

Advertising Age - London Edition

Arriving in London, I always can't wait to check out the smart, wicked & wonderful ads all around town.  But this time, I can tell there's a recession over here.  Looks like they've stopped using professional agencies and switched to the next door neighbor's idea after smoking a heck of a lot of dope. 
So, who a better spokesperson for auto insurance rates over the web?  The disfigured has-been, Iggy Pop.  There's so much wrong with these ads that I don't even know where to begin.  I don't associate Iggy with cars, Iggy with driving, Iggy with anything I seriously want to look at in my down time, pretty much, the idea of an extra-revolting mini-me Iggy version mostly just made me think of how I'd look if I ended up in a horrible accident with a 14-wheeler.  Not quite the image for getting me to go out in my car, pedal to the metal.  Now-The Cars would have been another story...
But, I'm sure when they thought it up as they were getting the munchies, it was seriously funny at the time.

 

Advertising Age:  17

Rome's mini-wikileaks - and all the Censor's men

Julian Assange may be praising the British judicial system, but, I'm sure he's lucky he didn't find himself in Italy.  Rome's judges, clearly on the wrong side of the internet freedom fighters, have, almost overnight (in an unprecedented act of swift decisiveness) closed down Cartellopoli - "Sign City" - a blog that exposed all of the outdoor signs that are springing up like mushrooms all across Rome - illegally.  Thing is, Wikileaks posts ill-gotten information; Cartellopoli posted photos of items already in the public domain - in fact, they're public eyesores.
Citing that the website "instigated vandal acts" - without absolutely the slightest hint of irony - as to which vandal acts they were actually protecting - the website was shut down.  This site, like others such as, Roma Fa Schifo ("Rome Sucks"), is run by democratically-minded people who are sick & tired of seeing the world's most beautiful city reduced to one live message board; with every sort of ad, poster, and of course, huge outdoor sign littering the cityscape.

the cartellopoli website as it now appears

Their activism - to get people to notice the daily disturbances and 'wild west' practices - embarrass the companies and people that are committing these vile acts - and maybe, elicit a response from the authorities.  Little did they know that they would be the ones to receive such a direct response. 
Naturally, these same civic-minded people have been waiting years for a case to be brought against any one of the illegal operations busy polluting the streets of Rome, and of course, engaging in the local pastime, not paying the taxes for posting in the first place.  But their website?  Down for the count.
They now must fight to get the site reinstated.  If, in this giving season, you love Rome, believe that (legally) disseminating information is a form of civic and civil discourse, please contribute something to Cartellopoli - to help pay their legal fees to stop this censorship and block the march of progress by self-serving outlaws.  And in the meantime, it will go a long way to bringing Rome back to its unparalleled beauty.

You can donate thru paypal on the Roma Fa Schifo site:  http://www.romafaschifo.com/

You can read the article (in Italian) about Cartellopoli's censorship here

Wouldn't it be nice to see instead, signs like these around town?

Advertising Age-The Best of Ancient Roman Headlines

In my periodic critique of Italian ad campaigns, a new bar has been set.  Up High. This is not the gold standard, but the platinum one - done for none other than my favorite local newspaper, Il Messaggero.  And, it's innovative for a number of reasons -- it shows how the internet, when put to good use, can break the boundaries and really provide something useful: a campaign that's fun to see, memorable, doesn't contribute to eye pollution, and hopefully, succeeds in selling more papers.  This campaign was a result of a contest on BootB amongst Creative agencies (winner: LS&Partners). And, whomever selected it, showed that Italians can have a sophisticated sense of humour when it comes to ad delivery.  The tag line?  
Il Messaggero:  The best news-Always (or, for all time...)

Rome Burns. Nero "Not me!"

Cleopatra & Antony: we'll take on Rome

Advertising Age?  A healthy 42 years old.
And, now, you can create your own headlines!  Follow their template - awesome.

Tante Belle Cose - October2010 / Rome's Excellent Adventures

For many of us bemoaning the status of a Grande Paese such as Italy, it seems often that for every step forward, the country takes two steps back.  But this month, that is not the case.  There have been many good inroads made here, and not only reserved for underage girls spuriously named 'Ruby', who get a 'get out of jail free' card from noneother than their supposed lover & septuagenarian benefactor, Berlusconi...

Rome's Mayor announced that plastic bags would no longer be in commerce - only biodegradable plastic bags in supermarkets and stores from 2011 onwards.

On a specific Tuesday of each month until January, Italy's State Museums (the creme of the crop) will be free and open til 11pm.  I was finally able to divine which museums on which days, but not by going to the Ministry website...Try here.

Hon. Monica Cirinnà, a Rome City Councilman, informed us of a heretofore unpublished & unpromoted juicy piece of news -- that ads showing naked or near-naked bodies will no longer appear on Rome city billboards.
Of course, the disgusting Diesel campaign showing tweens in every sort of position (one teeny-bopper was shown legs spread eagle in a supermarket vegetable aisle holding a cucumber)...made the grade as she was clothed...

And, in the (very likely) event that these same girls end up getting man-handled, the City of Rome will now be one of the plaintiffs prosecuting the cases -- every one of these incidents also reflects negatively on the image as a whole of Roma.               This decision came down just as the Romanian nurse was pounded in the face by an Italian man she crossed insults with in the subway -- ending up in an irreversible coma and then dying.  It may not prevent these crimes, but it's an example for the rest of the world.

Fly AirBerlin! You'll forget you're in Germany...

Now that I'm happily repatriated to la mia bella casa romana, of course, I couldn't help but notice the ad campaigns.  This time, and I'd seriously like to see the 'concept paper' on this one, I really want to know the rationale behind picking three Latinas or Romanian gypsies or the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean for this ad to visit Germany.

Because, when I think of traveling to Berlin, I certainly don't think of this:

And, as much as I love hip Berlin, the Love Parade, the big ol' State Museums, the clubs, the shopping, I still kinda think of this:


Okay, so I get it that they want to sort of steer you away from all that...but, to take you over to Las Rambas?

Here are scenes from AirBerlin's launch night here in Rome.  Clearly betting on the success of the veline over any 'truth in advertising'.  But, if their ad people hailed from Milan, they'd know that most Italians don't even like that look.  They're all too busy turning into emaciated blond stick figures.

But, let's see how AirBerlin truly pictures itself:

I rest my case.

Reasons for using the gypsy look to Fly to Berlin:

- Sexy blondes are hard to come by - in Italy, all the Eastern-European ones are too busy turning tricks

- Since all the Italians have gone blond, perhaps they could be enticed to 'go back to their roots' in Berlin
- The only people who can afford to fly these days are the illegal workers, or Gypsies, so the ad was conceived to appeal to them

- Disney has just opened a new Caribbean theme park there

- Chancellor Merkel is too much in the news these days, and they sort of wanted to counter that image

The Michelin Man - World's worst ad icon

I took my car in for a revision.  Since I had the choice of looking at naked women or what a male-oriented industry offers 51% of its clientele while you wait: a big fat blimp wrapped in bandages, I chose the blimp.  And then my thoughts migrated to this man, one of the most recognizable figures on earth, second only to George Clooney (and probably a lot more reliable).

Now I'm often amazed at the utter stupidity behind advertisements in Italy (but it's pretty universal -- I just happen to live here), but I think you gotta hand it to the French. There are so many things wrong with this icon that I don't know where to begin.  So, I'll start at the beginning - his humble origins when drawn by -- yes, you guessed it - most likely a 'figlio di papà', Andre Michelin.  Proving my theory once again that most of the ludicrous ads we get are created by the offspring of the Company owners...

For a company making its name in tires - and therefore - road safety, they used Bibendum as their role model.  I just discovered while editing a book in French, that our dear friend Bibendum is the personification of the Latin phrase,  
"Nunc est bibendum! (Now is the time to drink!)"  
No wonder he needs all those tires around him - when he crashes from drunk driving into the reinforced pilons of the highway overpass.
[The fact they used a drinking slogan, also lends credence to my second theorum governing 'figli di papà' -- their only real talent is knowing how to open Champagne.]

Their incredible leap in logic, of course, was that Michelin would swallow up the obstacles (like cases of beer).  I'd truly like to know how many beer-drinking Frenchmen know Latin expressions.  But, decades on, and hugely successful as he's been, maybe this is a mute point.

And finally, there's the 'man' himself.  Although I've seen him depicted with a dashing scarf around his neck, there can't be anyone further from the emaciated Frenchmen (Gerard Depardieux excepted) we've come to know and love (but not be totally over the top for, either -- I reference: Sarkozy, Vincent Cassel - heck, their most famous personality is The Little Prince).

Here's a guy who probably should have been conceived in the USA, where in fact, most people (especially those driving big vehicles) look like this guy.  And, they probably down more than their fair share of beer.  No wonder Bibendum lasted so long - once America built all their roads, who better than a humanoid blimp to represent them.

And to counter the wily French marketing savvy, Goodyear came out with its very own real Blimp.  Bigger, fatter, and it flies!

Talk about oneupmanship.  Considering the rivalry between the two countries, you'd think the French would have disowned Bibendum the moment the Pillsbury Doughboy was formed.

Anyway, as for me, perhaps we should come up with some other images in the mechanics' garages, or in the very least, they could offer up the female equivalent: a rather large woman in a burkha. Or, George Clooney.

Italy gets a sense of humor

Well, that title isn't exactly correct.  Italians have a great sense of humor.  You just don't usually find it in their ads posted all over town.   Say what you will about the eye pollution of ads posted everywhere the graffiti is not (and sometimes where it is), but at least the City of Rome is doing something about it -- They've hired a crack ad team to come up with most of their public service announcements -- and we're all better for it.  Not only have they started campaigns about children's car seats, fast driving, and drinking & driving, but, don't look now, irony has finally found it's voice.

These are for making sure your car tags are up to date:  they read, 'The Bollino Blu is not an accessory'.

 

 

Bella Figura: whose taste anyway?

Who doesn't remember those scenes from Cinema Paradiso with the censors devouring every last kiss just before letting them fall to the cutting room floor? While I've been in Milan, there has been a fiery debate surrounding a new ad campaign by the controversial visual artist, Olivero Toscani. This time, his images of a naked anorexic woman, just in time for all of the other quasi-naked anorexics to descend on Milan's fashion runways, was deemed by the powers that be, to push that very slim envelope one gram too far. Now, let's make one thing clear: I personally can't stand Toscani's 'work' for Benetton et.al., because I find showing people suffering from AIDS or drugs or what have you an extremely bizarre way to sell sweaters. If he had produced these images for a Benetton Foundation for AIDS victims or a NO-L-ITA foundation against anorexia, that's one thing. But no, he just slaps up the images, walks away, and lets everyone discuss what he's up to. The Companies which allow him to do such work should, in the very least, take their logos off the ads.

Nonetheless, the ad campaign was pulled by Milan's (female) Mayor Moratti. I guess it offended just one too many tax-paying fashionista; and considering they'd rather show us pre-teens in every sort of erotic position, clothed or otherwise, I guess maybe the model just wasn't the Bella Figura the Milanese like to be associated with.

It brings to mind my very favourite ad that was ever run, by Diego della Palma makeup studio for their tanning products. It was so hot, I swear when that ad came out one sweltering day in August 1985 (I will never forget the day), the temperature went up about 12 more degrees. Showing not nearly enough nudity as any given ad on any given day using women, I think the concerned censors just thought that it was too too titillating for us women, and, allah forbid, we could never let the ladies have their fair share of it, too. So, before the fragile wives could return from their beach vacations, down the posters went (but I still have a copy).

In a country which uses naked women to sell everything from socks to SUVs, I have never since seen any ad showing a butt-naked man. But I'm hoping that, despite her censor-happy hand, maybe our Mayor will start to give equal coverage for both parties. But the future looks bleak.
To see the ad in question, go to: www.diegodallapalma.it
Click WELCOME then COMPANY then COMMUNICATIONS followed by WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE
Ahhh...it has been good, but a taste of honey's worse than none at all...