Franco Turcati initially photographed Alfa Romeo cars for Monzeglio, a Turin-based automotive dealership that later grew to become Italy’s first Suzuki bike importer.
His work in promoting started in 1965 when he shot Suzuki’s first Italian campaigns utilizing a Nikon F with a 300mm telephoto lens. Certainly one of his most memorable campaigns, ‘Io Suzuki e Tu?’, mixed motorbikes and feminine fashions, reflecting each the male gaze and evolving feminine trend traits of the time. One other marketing campaign, impressed by George Orwell’s Animal Farm, stirred controversy with its slogan, resulting in its condemnation by Italy’s newly shaped promoting regulatory physique.
h/t: vintag.es
The marketing campaign confronted backlash from feminist actions and activists like Angelo Pezzana, who protested sexist commercials by masking billboards with stickers. In response, Suzuki shifted its promoting method, launching the ‘Suzuki Steel Island’ marketing campaign, although it failed to realize the identical reputation. Japanese headquarters determined to undertake a extra restrained advertising technique to compete with rivals like Honda and Kawasaki. Suzuki then collaborated with OPIT, a Milanese promoting agency, to shoot a marketing campaign on the Monza circuit, which Turcati discovered uninspired.
As promoting shifted, Turcati noticed a decline in originality, blaming the Macintosh period for standardizing designs. He lamented that youthful generations lacked a deep understanding of typography and design rules. In his early profession, Turcati thrived in discussions with entrepreneurs and artwork administrators, however he later felt that skilled progress diminished with the altering business panorama.
