An advertising pioneer. Renato Zveteremich (1893 1951)

Journal title STORIA IN LOMBARDIA
Author/s Alessandro Colizzi, Renata Bazzani Zveteremich
Publishing Year 2015 Issue 2014/1
Language Italian Pages 20 P. 121-140 File size 177 KB
DOI 10.3280/SIL2014-001004
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Renato Zveteremich was an Italian advertising director, mostly known for being the first art director of Olivetti’s Development and Advertising departments in the 1930s. An early proponent of modernism, Zveteremich adopted a “humanistic” approach to advertising, which would leave a long lasting imprint on the company's communication style. He joined Olivetti in 1931, at a key moment of the expansion plan launched by Adriano Olivetti, and was in charge of the in house advertising services until 1938. Under his leadership, characterized by a multidisciplinary approach, the offices on via Clerici gained a prestigious status in Milan at the time. Influenced by the rationalist movement in architecture, Zveteremich was among the first to recognize the value of young artists who looked at the European avant gardes: Munari, Ricas, Schawinsky, Carboni, Veronesi, Melotti, Pintori, Nivola, and architects Figini and Pollini. He eventually left Olivetti to work as a consultant for companies in advanced industry sectors, notably chemical and pharmaceutical. At the same time he undertook an important activity as a publicist; in his writings he expressed a vision of business communication which was largely ahead of its time, in which commercial promotion and social responsibilities were combined. In the post war "booming" years, this concept will be at the core of the communication strategies of leading Italian industry. Only his untimely death prevented his recognition as one of the most original intellectuals working within industry, alongside Leonardo Sinisgalli, Dino Villani, Ignazio Weiss, and Arrigo Castellani. .


Keywords: Renato Zveteremich, Adriano Olivetti, Milan, Thirties, Italian graphics, advertising, modernism.

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  • Proceedings of the 2nd International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Image and Imagination Giuliana Altea, pp.21 (ISBN:978-3-030-41017-9)

Alessandro Colizzi, Renata Bazzani Zveteremich, Un pioniere della pubblicità: Renato Zveteremich (1893-1951) in "STORIA IN LOMBARDIA" 1/2014, pp 121-140, DOI: 10.3280/SIL2014-001004