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Magazine ad, Warum konnten wir eine so schöne Schreibmaschine bauen? – Darum. – IBM, 1963
Karl Gerstner
Magazine ad, Warum konnten wir eine so schöne Schreibmaschine bauen? – Darum. – IBM,
Karl Gerstner,
Magazine ad, Warum konnten wir eine so schöne Schreibmaschine bauen? – Darum. – IBM,
1963
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Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
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Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
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The Basel advertising agency Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, known as GGK, was a trailblazer above all in the 1960s, when its advertising style was still novel and fresh and the three partners Karl Gerstner (1930–2017), Markus Kutter (1925–2005), and Paul Gredinger (1927–2013) were managing the company. Together with their photographer Alexander von Steiger, they designed numerous campaigns for IBM Switzerland, including one for the IBM typeball typewriter, particularly memorable due to its concise play on words and images.
For the Basel advertising agency Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, known as GGK, it wasn’t easy to land big accounts in Switzerland in the early 1960s, since many clients were already being catered to elsewhere. As a result, the firm often worked for German companies, including Holzäpfel, Krupp, and Volkswagen. This, in turn, brought them important international clients such as IBM Switzerland. GGK received its first advertising commission from that firm in 1962, which would be followed by others over the decades. One of them was for the new typeball typewriter IBM Electric 72, which came onto the market in 1963. The technical innovation here was a moveable typeball that replaced both the individual typebars and the moving carriage, accelerating typing speed within a compact machine format. GGK focused in its advertising campaign on depicting the product and its advantages. This was done in the form of a witty dialogue in word and image, with detailed commentary relegated to three text columns at the bottom margin of the advertisement. In this ad, we see the IBM Electric 72 in three-quarter profile floating in the upper half and, beneath it, “Why are we able to build such a beautiful typewriter?” As a reply, the small typeball in profile responds, “This is why.” The details are set out in the text at the bottom of the page. As the typewriter soon became a cult object, GGK also reached out to secretaries in later campaigns, presenting them the gift of the typeball as a piece of jewelry. (Barbara Junod)
Werbeinserat, Warum konnten wir eine so schöne Schreibmaschine bauen? – Darum. – IBM, 1963
Konzept, Gestaltung und Text: Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, Werbeagentur AG, Basel, CH / Karl Gerstner, Paul Gredinger, Markus Kutter
Fotografie: Alexander von Steiger
Auftrag: IBM Schweiz, Zürich, CH
Material/Technik: Papier, Andruck Buchdruck
29.7 × 21 cm
Donation: GGK Basel Werbeagentur AG, Zürich, CH
Eigentum: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich / ZHdK
Meret Ernst, «‹Ausdrücken, auf was es ankommt›: Die 1960er-Jahre der GGK», in: Museum für Gestaltung (Hg.), 100 Jahre Schweizer Grafik, Zürich 2014, S. 234–237.
Manfred Kröplien (Hg.), Karl Gerstner. Rückblick auf 5 x 10 Jahre Graphik Design etc., Ostfildern-Ruit 2001, insbesondere S. 56–71, 118–123.
Markus Kutter, Abschied von der Werbung, Niederteufen 1976, S. 161–164.
Karl Gerstner/Paul Gredinger/Markus Kutter (Hg.), Gerstner + Kutter 1960, Bericht über das Jahr 1960 in D/E/F, Basel 1961, S. 2.
Werbeinserat, Warum konnten wir eine so schöne Schreibmaschine bauen? – Darum. – IBM, 1963, Konzept, Gestaltung und Text: Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, Werbeagentur AG, Basel, CH / Karl Gerstner, Paul Gredinger, Markus Kutter, Fotografie: Alexander von Steiger, Donation: GGK Basel Werbeagentur AG, Zürich, CH
Abbildung: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich / ZHdK
Werbeinserat, Wie sieht eine technische Revolution aus? – So: – IBM, 1963, Konzept, Gestaltung und Text: Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, Werbeagentur AG, Basel, CH / Karl Gerstner, Paul Gredinger, Markus Kutter, Fotografie: Alexander von Steiger, Donation: GGK Basel Werbeagentur AG, Zürich, CH
Abbildung: Abbildung: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich / ZHdK
Werbeinserat, So präzis – so gross – IBM, 1963, Konzept, Gestaltung und Text: Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, Werbeagentur AG, Basel, CH / Karl Gerstner, Paul Gredinger, Markus Kutter, Fotografie: Alexander von Steiger, Donation: GGK Basel Werbeagentur AG, Zürich, CH
Abbildung: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich / ZHdK
Werbeinserat, Weltmeisterin (keine Werbephrase) – IBM, 1963, Konzept, Gestaltung und Text: Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, Werbeagentur AG, Basel, CH / Karl Gerstner, Paul Gredinger, Markus Kutter, Fotografie: Alexander von Steiger, Donation: GGK Basel Werbeagentur AG, Zürich, CH
Abbildung: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich / ZHdK
Werbegeschenk (Schmuckanhänger), Eine gute Sekretärin ist Gold wert. – IBM Schweiz, 1975, Konzept, Gestaltung und Text: Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, Werbeagentur AG, Basel, CH / Karl Gerstner, Paul Gredinger, Markus Kutter
Donation: GGK Basel Werbeagentur AG, Zürich, CH
Abbildung: Abbildung: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich / ZHdK
Werbeinserat (zweiteilig), Dies ist eine Seite...... und das eine andere Seite der IBM., 1963, Konzept, Gestaltung und Text: Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, Werbeagentur AG, Basel, CH / Karl Gerstner, Paul Gredinger, Markus Kutter, Fotografie: Alexander von Steiger, Donation: GGK Basel Werbeagentur AG, Zürich, CH
Abbildung: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich / ZHdK
GGK Agency – Verbal and Pictorial Wit
The Basel advertising agency Gerstner, Gredinger + Kutter, known as GGK—an extension of the earlier, smaller Gerstner + Kutter—was one of the most successful Swiss agencies from the 1960s to the 1980s. GGK introduced a pioneering advertising style in Switzerland in the 1960s characterized by a sophisticated relationship between word and image. The ads were often heavy on text, but they also boldly left plenty of white space if it served to reinforce the message.