Work, Products, and Communication in the Photographic Archives: The Pirelli Foundation at “Una Rete in Viaggio” 2025
On Tuesday, 8 April 2025, the Pirelli Foundation hosted the second event of Una Rete in Viaggio. Storie, idee, progetti, a programme of meetings curated by Rete Fotografia , which fosters dialogue between members and institutions in the search for new points of connection.
Centred on the theme of “Products and Communication”, the discussion featured contributions from the Pirelli Foundation, Fondazione Fiera Milano, and Fondazione 3M. The event began at 5:30 pm with a tour of the Pirelli Foundation and of the exhibition The Sports Workshop.
The evolution of photographic advertising in Pirelli’s history has witnessed the gradual creation of a distinct style that can be seen in all aspects of its corporate communication. The Foundation’s presentation, entitled “Products in Photographs Now in the Pirelli Archive, from Neorealist Communication to the Advertising Industry” traced the evolution of this journey from the 1940s to the 1970s. It explored the gradual consolidation of an approach that increasingly reaffirmed advertising’s role as a form of artistic expression. It ranged from Federico Patellani’s neorealist photographic advertising—with illustrated articles and behind-the-scenes sports imagery—to the metacommunicative approach of photographs on road-side hoardings, through to Aldo Ballo’s and Ugo Mulas’s still lifes and artistic reportages, as well as the imagery of trade fairs with their interactive and design-led stands. It looked at the creation of Agenzia Centro, which shifted advertising’s focus towards the consumer. A highlight was the “Long P” campaign, photographed by Adrian Hamilton, an iconic example of transmedia communication.
In other words, it adopted a behind-the-scenes perspective, like the one we have tried to give in this meeting on the product photographs in our Historical Archive and on the “Pirelli style” in communication. It showed how the collaboration between photographers and the business world led to a convergence of visions that was essential not only for showcasing a product’s features, functions, and applications but also for communicating the company’s history and values to the wider public.
On Tuesday, 8 April 2025, the Pirelli Foundation hosted the second event of Una Rete in Viaggio. Storie, idee, progetti, a programme of meetings curated by Rete Fotografia , which fosters dialogue between members and institutions in the search for new points of connection.
Centred on the theme of “Products and Communication”, the discussion featured contributions from the Pirelli Foundation, Fondazione Fiera Milano, and Fondazione 3M. The event began at 5:30 pm with a tour of the Pirelli Foundation and of the exhibition The Sports Workshop.
The evolution of photographic advertising in Pirelli’s history has witnessed the gradual creation of a distinct style that can be seen in all aspects of its corporate communication. The Foundation’s presentation, entitled “Products in Photographs Now in the Pirelli Archive, from Neorealist Communication to the Advertising Industry” traced the evolution of this journey from the 1940s to the 1970s. It explored the gradual consolidation of an approach that increasingly reaffirmed advertising’s role as a form of artistic expression. It ranged from Federico Patellani’s neorealist photographic advertising—with illustrated articles and behind-the-scenes sports imagery—to the metacommunicative approach of photographs on road-side hoardings, through to Aldo Ballo’s and Ugo Mulas’s still lifes and artistic reportages, as well as the imagery of trade fairs with their interactive and design-led stands. It looked at the creation of Agenzia Centro, which shifted advertising’s focus towards the consumer. A highlight was the “Long P” campaign, photographed by Adrian Hamilton, an iconic example of transmedia communication.
In other words, it adopted a behind-the-scenes perspective, like the one we have tried to give in this meeting on the product photographs in our Historical Archive and on the “Pirelli style” in communication. It showed how the collaboration between photographers and the business world led to a convergence of visions that was essential not only for showcasing a product’s features, functions, and applications but also for communicating the company’s history and values to the wider public.
