The sensual presence of everyday objects in Swiss product posters

The Magic of Things explores a former advertising strategy of Swiss product posters in which banal, everyday objects--butter, a sewing machine, or shoes--are presented as desirable objects enticing us to buy. Free from any further contextualization, the objects acquire a sensual presence and magical aura. The product poster had its heyday in Switzerland in the 1940s with designers such as Niklaus Stoecklin, Peter Birkhuser, or Otto Baumberger. As consumer society developed, however, the exclusive focus on the product and the brand name was no longer enough--in advertising, the feelings associated with the object as it related to life grew increasingly important. Today it is in the cultural poster that the magical depiction of things is experiencing a kind of renaissance.