White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 10Italian exceptions: Armando Testa, Emanuela Pirella and Gavino SannaMauro FerraresiThe last Carosello was broadcasted in January 1975 to an audience of around 19 millionItalians, including almost 9 million children. It marked the end of an epoch and also theend of the Italian way to advertising creativity. Carosello was ingenuous, bureaucratic, alittle stiff, but at the same time well-loved and it paved the way for new developments.The product advertised was only hinted at very remotely, since creativity was focused onthe short story meant to capture the attention. When the focus shifted to the product(the so-called codino only lasted a few seconds at the end of a short scene or sketchoften running to over a minute), the communication was a straightforward directstatement in anything but advertising style. It was pure and simple information.Abroad they smiled at us, saying that is not how you advertise. When we eventuallymatured in advertising terms, we had to admit that the Carosello method no longerworked but we still had no new methods. And, with a few exceptions, that is still thesituation today.One exception is Armando Testa, the leading advertising agent at the time of Carosello,and his spirit lives on today in the Turin agency of the same name run by his son, whohas taken up his legacy. Testa’s creative style was more artistic than graphic. He thoughtadvertising should almost take the form of a work of art (e.g. the Linus hippopotamus,the inhabitants of Papalla, and Caballero and Carmencita). It was vital for Testa totransform a creative idea into a character or artistic form. To give it body. The samething happens today in the agency of the same name, which has produced such creativecampaigns as the commercials for the supermarket chain Esselunga: vegetable, fruit andother Esselunga products are transformed into fantastic characters dreamed up by thegraphic imagination of the creatives – a loaf of bread becomes the face of Tutankamen,a radish the head of the artist Raphael, a piece of garlic (aglio) a Halloween (Aglioween)witch and so on.Another major exception is certainly Emanuele Pirella whose Bernbachian style is full ofunderstatement. He successfully combines a typical Anglo-Saxon approach within Italiancreative culture. Pirella is another advertising creative who does not disdain the artelement in advertising.Lastly, mention must also be made of Gavino Sanna, now happily retired in his nativeSardinia (although he did enter the advertising ring again in 2006 for the Federfarmaexhibition). During his time at Joung & Rubicam he forged a style also based on posterdesigning.In short, we can argue that the Italian way to advertising creativity is still that forged byTesta 30 years ago. Italian advertisers are not creatives who resort to a raw material ofconcepts or word plays; they make little use of humour and even less of sarcasm; they donot relish shocking or scandalising (with the exception of Benetton and their campaignsby photographer Oliviero Toscani). The raw material of Italian advertising creatives arethings and objects from which they construct new objects, forms and material usingartistic and graphic skills.WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 236