Magazine ad, Kaufen Sie diesen Wagen nicht!,

1960

The innovative advertising campaigns by the Basel agency Gerstner + Kutter, headed by the graphic designer Karl Gerstner (1930–2017) and the copywriter Markus Kutter (1925–2005), attracted first local and then international attention. The firm’s very first advertising commissions, which came from the duo’s circle of acquaintances, already revealed extraordinary approaches. For example, the campaign for the reopening of the Rheinbrücke department store in Basel visualized a virtual dialogue between a customer and the Rhine bridge (Rheinbrücke). Even more daring was an advertising campaign for the Zurich car dealership C. Schlotterbeck featuring the legendary Citroën 2 CV, which appeared in the daily press. Kutter used negative headlines throughout, juxtaposed with corresponding visual irony generated by his colleague Gerstner. The headlines of this four-part series were summarized in the last advertisement. They read: “Don’t look!”, “Don’t get in!”, “Don’t take a test drive!”, and at the very end, big and bold, “Don’t buy this car!” Beneath this, written in lowercase letters, were the words: “… if you don’t expect something new from a car.” Then, paradoxically, the advantages of a small car were listed, while beneath this a black bar almost completely obscured the depicted 2 CV, thus ostensibly discouraging the readership from purchasing the vehicle. The extensive photographs that Kutter organized for the casting were produced by Gerstner. The client seemed to approve of the witty and flippant campaign. In any event, the duo became an overnight sensation. (Barbara Junod)