Packaging design in Portugal during the 20th century as a political propagandistic device

COELHO, Nuno / Designer / University of Coimbra / Portugal

Graphic Design History / Packaging / 20th century / Portugal / 2. “Campanha do Bom Gosto” Confiança Portugal lived the last century intensely; one of the most turbu- lent eras in its history, experiencing five political regimes quite Portugal underwent an intense period of change during the distinct from one another: Constitutional Monarchy (until 1910); last century, experiencing five quite distinct political regimes. First Republic (1910-1926); Military Dictatorship (1926-1933); The ideological orientation of the Estado Novo, the longest au- “Estado Novo” (“New State”, 1933-1974) and, finally, the Second thoritarian regime in Western Europe, had long been transmitted Republic, which finally brought democracy. For decades before through diverse symbolic and iconographic graphic media devel- the 1974 revolution that overthrew the dictatorship and joining oped at the time. Soap and Perfumes Factory Confiança demon- the European Union in 1986, Portugal suffered a major interna- strates that the cultural propaganda device of the regime also in- tional isolation, self-perpetuated by the longest authoritarian volved ephemeral and disposable graphics, including packaging. regime in Western Europe.

During this period António Oliveira Salazar, President of the 1. Introduction Council of Ministers and the head of the Estado Novo, coined the The 20th century consolidated graphic design as a autonomous slogan “proudly alone”; symptomatic of the whole policy of his subject, firstly as a result of the progress resulting from the In- corporatist, traditionalist and conservative regime. Isolationist dustrial Revolution and on the other hand as a result of a series and protectionist measures were taken in the economy, while in of political, economic, social, cultural and artistic upheavals. The culture, a ‘lusitanism by replacing the image of the ‘real’ country exponential growth of private consumption observed at this time by one whose past and future are conceived according to the led the industry to place special emphasis on the production of patriotic-clerical nationalist mythology of the Estado Novo’ were product packaging. defined (Almeida 2009). Iconographic and symbolic devices found in graphic works developed during this time transmitted The term packaging is understood to refer to the container that the ideological orientation of the regime. contains or involves a particular consumable product through- out its lifetime and thus serves for the protection, transporta- Despite the late institutionalization of Design in Portugal1, the tion, storage and handling. However, the contribution of packag- Estado Novo was properly aware of its importance by includ- ing to our social organization is not limited to its functional and ing this discipline, at the time referred to as “applied art”, in the economic dimension, but also operating at its communicative “Campanha do Bom Gosto” (“Good Taste Campaign”), an initiative dimension level, which contribute many diverse social, cultural framed in the cultural program of the regime called “Política de and psychological factors. In his book “The Consumer Society” Espírito” (“Politics of the Spirit”), under the direction of António Baudrillard states that ‘the relationship between the consumer Ferro and promoted by the SPN – Secretariado de Propaganda and the object has been transformed: it no longer refers to that Nacional (Bureau of National Propaganda), later transformed object in particular in its usefulness, but on the set of objects in into SNI – Secretariado Nacional da Informação, Cultura Popular e its full meaning’ (Baudrillard 2007). Turismo (National Secretariat of Information, Popular Culture and Tourism). The “Good Taste Campaign” nurtured a special interest However, unlike other manifestations of graphic design like in the arts, decoration, graphic arts and advertising according to philately and numismatics, packaging was not subject to a thor- the nationalist ideals, and highly valued the populist traditions ough and continued safeguarding job throughout the 20th cen- and folklore of the Estado Novo (Santos 2003). tury because of its ephemeral and disposable nature. Therefore, The ‘Politics of the Spirit’ intended, then, to defend and it was rarely a focus of exclusive and dedicated attention. Given widely promote the national historical-ethnographic heritage the vastness of the material universe around us, the existing contribution through cultural contribution of the reinvention of the literature on the specific case of packaging throughout the 20th national identity and memory during the Estado Novo, embodied century in Portugal is still limited and characterized by small 1 Almeida identifies as three the dimensional structural characteristics essential samples accompanying catalogs of collections whose scientific to the understanding of historical identity and the institutionalization of Design in Portugal. The author relates the first dimension – institutionalization – with the value is of little significance. creation, by the Estado Novo regime in 1959, of the INII – Instituto Nacional de Investigação Industrial (National Institute of Industrial Research) in the logic of ‘integrating design as a driver of industrial modernization’. According to the author, this stage is followed by the professionalization (‘late, slow, diffuse and induced’) and of the education, which begins with the creation of the first design degree in Portugal in 1969 (Almeida 2009).

COELHO, Nuno 2012. Packaging design in Portugal during the 20th century as a political propagandistic device. In Farias, Priscila Lena; Calvera, Anna; Braga, Marcos da Costa & Schincariol, Zuleica (Eds.). Design frontiers: territories, concepts, technologies [=ICDHS 2012 - 8th Conference of the International Committee for Design History & Design Studies]. São Paulo: Blucher, 2012. ISBN 978-85-212-0692-7. DOI 10.5151/design-icdhs-048 Packaging design in Portugal during the 20th century as a political propagandistic device

and perpetuated by the work of António Ferro. The implications of origin circulated in Portugal, the Confiança factory strongly the propaganda of the Estado Novo combined myth, fantasy and consolidated, and produced brands and formulas of its own in historical truths (Almeida 2010). 1910 (Mattoso 2011: 103).

‘From the immoderate pursuit of harmony, a stylized modernism From 1920 the presence of Confiança products had reached is used for the reappropriation of a reality and of the historic past the whole of mainland Portugal and the islands of Madeira and of the country. A creation of a mythical country was proceeded the Azores. Production had increased considerably in order to by the makeup of reality’ (Santos 2008). “Good taste” was es- overcome competition. By 1928 it already produced ’about 150 tablished and enforced by the regime and it transversely perme- different brands of soap, and appreciated rice powder, creams, ated all of the applied arts, including the packaging design of toothpastes, shaving sticks, colognes, lotions and essences’ everyday consumable products. (Araújo 1944) whose raw material was coming from the former Portuguese colonies (Mattoso 2011). 3. Functional and symbolic value of packaging When packaged, consumable products are evaluated not only for their use and functionality but, above all, for what they rep- resent and symbolize, that is to say, according to a set of social and cultural codes transmitted visually by their packaging. This manner of evaluating products through a dual system of fac- tors – qualitative (functional) and quantitative (symbolic) – was described by Marx in his book “The Capital” by defining the con- cepts of use value and exchange. According to the author ‘the products of labour, which in themselves are things simple and

easy to understand, become complicated, full of nuances and Figure 1. Aspect of the Soap and Perfume Factory Confiança, in Braga (photo: enigmatic, when regarded as objects of value, regardless of their Confiança archive, date unknown) physical nature, in a word, since they are converted into com- modities’ (Marx 1912). At this time, the first two decades of the 20th century, given the strong cultural influence from abroad, people believed that The concept known as “commodity fetishism,” which finds its foreign products were of high and superior quality compared to origin in the theories of Marx, describes how the social relation- those of domestic manufacture. It was a very pronounced bias ship between individuals becomes mediated by objects, as they in Portuguese society, characterized by its provincialism, preju- become characterized by their communicative and symbolic di- dice and ignorance. For this reason the introduction of foreign mension. This dimension is described by Debord, who states that languages, predominantly French, on Confiança product label- ‘the spectacle is not a set of images but a social relation among ling was justified, even if its products were intended exclusively people mediated by images’ (Debord 1991). for domestic consumption. On other hand, according to the new aesthetic currents that were imported from Europe – Art It is therefore understood that, during the Estado Novo, industry Nouveau and then Art Déco – Confiança wanted to embue its incorporate values associated with the “Good Taste Campaign” in products with a cosmopolitan feeling opposed to a traditional the design process of its packaging. This ideological alignment language, considered mild and discrete. of the graphic material universe was a wayfor the Estado Novo to symbolically enter into the private sphere of the Portuguese Later, under the Estado Novo regime, the design is strongly in- people – their own homes. fluenced by the new currents that were coming mainly from Ger- many which ‘remained a centre for design excellence’ (Tambini 1997: 217) The introduction of a new taste based on German ex- 4. The case study of Confiança pressionism and geometric awareness of the visual object, ex- Founded in 1894 in the city of Braga and operating in its original plored from this pathway, showed a balance between image and building until the 21st century word, through the powerful styling and removal of any acces- sory or secondary element; the final key for the effectiveness (fig. 1), the Soap and Perfume Factory Confiança demonstrates of persuasion to the consuming public (Lobo 2001: 23). In the that the cultural and propagandistic device of the regime was new trends used in the graphic arts, a certain formal purism re- also present at the graphic conception of ephemeral and dispos- sult from the influences of the Bauhaus school, characterized by able goods, such as packaging. geometric rigor, and also of some French influences prevailed. The consciousness of synthesis in graphic communication was The Confiança soaps and the other Confiança products, in general, were highly prestigious and were part of the everyday life of used in political propaganda and this is also reflected in the households with a certain economic power. At the beginning of discourse of advertising. The aesthetics and the immediacy of the 20th century, when soaps and other cosmetics of foreign the message are valued. The Art Déco influence is still felt, al-

Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies 253 COELHO, Nuno

though it is ‘a time when the artwork became distinctly stronger through their choice of graphic motifs in their packaging but also and more simple, quickly capturing the attention. It was a time by choosing the designations of their brands. Among the more of rationalization with clear and uncomplicated styles’ (Tambini than four hundred brands that were being produced by Soap and 1997: 238). This new aesthetic would find an echo in the graphic Perfume Factory Confiança at this time, we highlight the names design developed in Portugal during the Estado Novo. and motifs with national-patriotic inspiration, such as Caravella (Caravel), Castelo (Castle), Cavaleiros (Knights), Conquista- In the 1930s, with the wide use of cars as well as the constant dor (Conqueror), Luzo (of Lusitania), Templários (Templars), evolution of other transport, the Estado Novo recognized the po- among others. Other brands and motifs referred to traditions, tential of tourism in Portugal. ‘Walking in the countryside, sea- folklore and legends, such as Académico (Academic) (fig.2), Ar- side or to the outskirts at weekends is now part of compulsory raial (popular celebration), Ceifeira (Female Harvester), Flôres habits’ (Lobo 2001: 7). More and better access roads to major de Amendoeira (Almond Flowers), Fragatas (Frigates), Maioral cities from major national borders were created, as well as the (Main Man), Pérola do Atlântico (Pearl of the Atlantic), S. Jorge construction of rest areas and several inns along the roads. At (St. George), Tricana (traditional women costume), Vira do Minho the same time, celebrations like feasts, festivals, fairs and ex- (type of dance in the Minho region), among others. hibitions were organized as well as many popular events to at- tract attention and sympathy in the Portuguese people to the Most of the chosen names and motifs also referred to towns and new political system. The iconography of this time displays geographical regions that represented the typical side of the de- ‘pictures sticking to a popular styling (...) language that was in sired “Portugality”� such as the Algarve, the Azores, Douro River, accordance with the spirit of the government that defended the Faro, Pico Island, Gerez, Madeira Island, Nazare (fig.3), Oporto, rediscovery of folk roots and of an inventory of a typical and hu- Aveiro Lagoon, Ribatejo, S. Miguel Island, Troia, Viana do Castelo, man Portugal’ (Lobo 2001: 8). Artistically, this was an attempt and others. to rip off the past and to create a genuinely Portuguese style by allying traditional and modern concepts. Through this national recovery logic, the ban by Decree-Law in 1930, of the use of for- eign language in national brands is easily explained.2

Despite the large number of brands produced by Soap and Per- fume Factory Confiança over this period, its products were de- signed almost exclusively for domestic and colonial consump- tion. Although Brazil had already been independent for roughly a century, Portugal was still the owner of a colonial empire with

scattered territories in Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bis- Figure 2. Académico soap label sau, Sao Tome and Principe and Cape Verde), Asia (Goa, Daman, Figure 3. Nazaré soap label Diu and Macau) and Oceania (Timor). This sense of grandeur was celebrated in Lisbon at the Portuguese World Exhibition of 1940, Also by this time, Confiança supplied a wide network of hotels an unprecedented initiative in Portugal. The aim was to show the and spas with exclusive soaps. Amongst the various designa- world the vast economic, cultural and social power of the “Portu- tions identified, we highlight the products produced for Caldas da guese Empire” in a year that, beyond our borders, the attention Saúde, Caldas Santas, Costa do Sol, Termas do Carvalhal, Termas and concerns could not be more different – it was the midst of de Luso, Sal Airport, Hotel Turismo Luanda, among many others. the conflict of World War II . It is also important to highlight the soap developed exclusively for the Pousadas de Portugal, a inn chain controlled by the state, Despite the war beyond its borders, the country continued the the motif of which is the rooster of Barcelos, a legend turned into campaign known as the “Portugalisation of Portugal” in which a national graphic symbol during the Estado Novo (fig. 4). the Estado Novo recognized the importance of historic iconog- raphy and of national values applied to touristic, industrial and In addition, other names and motifs demonstrated colonial in- commercial promotion. The virtually non-existent foreign com- spiration, such as Angolanaco (fig. 5), Dinizes, Indian, Mambo, petition, as a result of economic protectionism carried out by Merengue, Mombaka, Morna, among others. Noteworthy is the the regime, favoured the Portuguese brands, whose business fact that, in these cases, when using illustrations representing easily flourished. Because of this it also contributed to the posi- local residents, these representations emerge in stigmatized tive economic balance resulting from the Portuguese policy of forms, ie, the native is usually depicted barefoot and shirtless, neutrality during World War II. By this time, the Confiança prod- with an absence of any trace of civility. This representation met ucts had reached the remote parts of the so called “Portuguese the regime’s ideology which, in the perpetuation of stereotypes, Empire”, conquering a geographically extensive market. sought to maintain the feeling of the superiority of the colonizer and, consequently, the hegemony of the empire. The social The Portuguese industry celebrated the political system not only representation of the colonized, in stark contrast to images of

2 Decree-Law nº 18281 of 30/4/1930 sophisticated and cosmopolitan women pictured in other Con-

Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies 254 Packaging design in Portugal during the 20th century as a political propagandistic device

fiança brands, served to perpetuate colonialism through the sophistication in a country that was still rural and conservative, power relationship through difference. It should be noted that as well as distant both geographically and culturally from the rest Portugal was the last European power to grant independence to of Europe. It was also a reflection of the patriotic and national- its colonies, which came only after the sudden change of political ist ideologies propagated by the political regime in the constant regime with the democratic revolution of 1974. search for national hegemony. From this case study, we can eas- ily confirm that, in addition to posters and advertising, packaging design also exuded the ideal of greatness that the Salazar regime aspired to. And this way we can also explain how these ephemeral, disposable and seemingly “innocent” objects can tell us a lot not only about us as individuals, but also about our collective history.

References Almeida, J. 2010. Invenções de Memórias e Reinvenções de Identidades do séc. XX Português – Crónica de uma Conferência

Figure 4. Pousadas de Portugal soap label 5&Itemid=34&limit=1&limitstart=12> (last accessed 25/04/12). Figure 5. Angolanaco soap label Almeida, V. 2009. O Design em Portugal, um Tempo e um Modo – A Institu- cionalização do Design Português entre 1959 e 1974. Lisboa: FBAUP.

Araújo, M. 1944. Confiança – Breves Notas da Sua História. Braga: Confi- ança.

Baudrillard, J. 2007. A Sociedade de Consumo. Lisboa: Edições 70.

Debord, G. 1991. A Sociedade do Espectáculo. Lisboa: Mobilis in Mobile.

Figure 6. Exposição 1940 soap label Lobo, T. 2001. Cartazes Publicitários – Colecção da Empreza do Bolhão. Figure 7. Mundo Português cologne label Figure 8. Caetano visit to Confiança Lisboa: Inapa.

From the graphic archive of Soap and Perfume Factory Confiança, Marx, K. 1912. O Capital. Lisboa: Typographia de Francisco Luiz Gonçalves. we also highlight the launch of the Exposição 1940 (Exhibition 1940) soap (fig. 6) and the Mundo Português (Portuguese World) Mattoso, J. (Dir.). 2011. História da Vida Privada em Portugal – A Época cologne (fig. 7), which commemorated the Portuguese World Ex- Contemporânea. Lisboa: Temas e Debates / Círculo de Leitores. hibition of 1940, mentioned above; a ‘stunning wonder (...) de- monstrative of the Genius of the Race and the eternity of Portugal’ Santos, G. 2008. “Política do Espírito” – O Bom Gosto Obrigatório para Em- (Araújo 1944). belezar a Realidade. Paris: Université de Paris X – Nanterre.

The importance that the regime gave to the national industrial Santos, R. 2003. Cadeiras Contemporâneas Portuguesas. Lisboa: ASA. and business sector was also reflected in the numerous visits high figures of the state made to the premises of several factories Tambini, M. 1997. A Imagem do Século. Lisboa: Diário de Notícias. throughout the country. In the case of Confiança, we highlight the visit of Marcelo Caetano (fig. 8), deputy leader of the regime About the author and natural successor to Salazar, who, after his death in 1970, as- Nuno Coelho is a Communication Designer and a Lecturer on the sumed the post of President of the Council of the Estado Novo. Undergraduate and Master degree courses in Design and Multi- media at the Sciences and Technology Faculty of the University Taking into account its unique role in the 20th century in Portugal, of Coimbra. He’s a Researcher at the Centre for 20th Century In- Soap and Perfume Factory Confiança shows the direct influence terdisciplinary Studies of the University of Coimbra. He’s current- of recent Portuguese history in the graphic design of consum- ly undertaking a PhD on Contemporary Art at Colégio das Artes of able products. It was then a symbol of a sense of modernity and the University of Coimbra.

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