The Americanization of Italian advertising during the 1950s and the 1960s: Mediations, conflicts, and appropriations

Abstract

Purpose

The 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/approach

The 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.

Findings

This 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/value

Although 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.

Citation

De Iulio, S. and Vinti, C. (2009), "The Americanization of Italian advertising during the 1950s and the 1960s: Mediations, conflicts, and appropriations", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 270-294. https://doi.org/10.1108/17557500910974613