Ciro Advertising

Cirio originated in Turin in 1856, founded by Francesco Cirio (born in 1836 in Nizza Monferrato), who, at just twenty years old, experimented with the technique of appertization — adapted from the discoveries of Nicolas Appert—for preserving agricultural products. This innovation revolutionized Italian exports on a global scale. Within a few years, Cirio became the leading exporter of fruit and vegetables to London and Paris, expanding its product range and quickly gaining international recognition, starting with the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1867. In the following decades, particularly in the early 20th century, Cirio moved much of its production to Campania—specifically the Neapolitan and Salerno areas—closer to the raw materials, especially the San Marzano tomato. This strategic decision transformed the company into a symbol of Italian excellence, thanks to the establishment of production plants in San Giovanni a Teduccio, Pagani, Pontecagnano, Paestum, and Castellammare di Stabia. During the 20th century, Cirio stood out for building a strong bond of trust with consumers through advertising campaigns that aimed to create a lasting relationship with the public. Cirio entrusted its image to the Milan-based agency Dal Montre, the first Italian communication agency. Later, posters created by prominent artists consolidated a strong and recognizable visual identity: Leonetto Cappiello, a leading figure in Italian poster art, designed posters for canned goods in 1921 and 1923; Achille Luciano Mauzan created a poster for Cirio tomato sauce in 1930; Fortunato Depero created a poster for the coffee line in 1936; Antonio Rubino developed a comprehensive project that included the “Ciriolibro,” an illustrated volume for collecting Cirio labels. These collaborations, characteristic of the shift in advertising design at the beginning of the century—when vivid and essential graphics focused attention on the product and brand’s visual identity—positioned Cirio at the forefront of Made in Italy visual communication. 

A crucial element of this investigation is the representation of women in Cirio advertising. Like many other companies of the time, Cirio placed the female figure at the center of its messaging, reinforcing stereotypical role models that would persist for decades. Even in the 1970s, slogans like “Fai la prova marito” ("Do the husband test") emerged, portraying women as solely devoted to their husbands and household duties, despite the growing dissatisfaction voiced by feminist movements that challenged these traditional roles. Such advertisements not only reflected dominant cultural patterns but actively contributed to shaping social expectations, facilitating the normalization of asymmetric gender roles.

Meanwhile, in 1960s and 1970s Italy, critical reflections on domestic labor began to take shape. Feminist groups such as Lotta Femminista proposed wages for housework and demanded an economic and social redefinition of the so-called “housewife.” These initiatives demonstrated how advertising communication—including Cirio’s campaigns—was embedded within a broader and politically charged debate on gender representation in advertising. Feminists in the 1970s, as discussed in the essay Strega è bello e vola nuda (“Witch Is Beautiful and Flies Naked”) published in Effe Rivista Femminista, described such campaigns as the celebration of an “empty box”: a female image stripped of autonomy, crushed by “centuries of oppression and social conditioning,” promotedas a comforting model ripe for commercial exploitation. Within this framework, advertising did not act as a passive mirror but rather as a persuasive device that, exploiting women’s discomforts, offered consumerist solutions—redeeming a self-made identity through purchase, as already analyzed by Betty Friedan in The Feminine Mystique. During the same period, the architecture of advertising was being redefined: the “feminine mystique” promoted by mass communication confined women within reassuring rhetoric, reproducing hegemonic models—in which the woman is seductive, domestic, always elegant, smiling, ready to care for her husband and children, despite her daily struggles.

Simultaneously, groups like Lotta Femminista mobilized critical reflections on domestic labor, demanding recognition of wages for housewives and denouncing the reduction of women to a hegemonic domestic function. This political and cultural confrontation sparked a heated national debate on what it truly meant to “serve” one’s family—and who had the power to define that narrative.

The importance of a critical analysis of Cirio’s materials thus lies in the ability to distinguish between the aesthetic excellence of its communication and the ideological content that reinforces gender disparity. Some of the graphics produced, while representing a milestone in Italian advertising design, coexist with a feminine imaginary that perpetuates a reductive and confining vision of women in domestic roles. In this context, graphic artifacts do not merely reflect dominant culture; they become active tools for perpetuating social roles—inevitably shaping and influencing the socio-cultural environment.

Datails: Dal Monte, the first Italian advertising agency, produced various advertisements published in newspapers; Leonetto Cappiello designed posters for canned products in 1921 and 1923; Mauzan Achille Luciano created a poster for Cirio tomato sauce in 1930; Severo Pozzati del 1935 creates a coffee poster; Fortunato Depero created the poster for the coffee line in 1936; Antonio Rubino developed a comprehensive project that included the ‘Ciriolibro’ an illustrated book for collecting Cirio labels; Lussografica Torino is a historic Italian company specialized in printing and advertising graphics; Carlo Dinelli creates the poster for Rubra, Cirio’s spicy sauce.