Milan is a great construction site in constant evolution and, in recent years, has seen intense building and redevelopment activity — particularly in the former Varesine area, now occupied by imposing skyscrapers once unthinkable for Milan’s skyline.
Numerous projects have profoundly changed the face of Milan from Garibaldi to Centrale, passing through Porta Nuova, the new Piazza Gae Aulenti and the imposing buildings surrounding it. First among them is the UniCredit tower which, with the 231 metres reached by its spire, makes it today the tallest skyscraper in Italy.
Fast changes… but not all of them
Among all these avant-garde renovations and modernisations, one has been underway for several years now with still uncertain timelines. This is the old “Pirellino” — the Torre Servizi Tecnici Comunali at Via Giovanni Battista Pirelli 39, on the corner of Via Melchiorre Gioia, right in the heart of Milan’s business district. It is a rather peculiar complex, unique in its own way for the city, as it consists of a tower flanked by another building placed as a “bridge” over Viale Melchiorre Gioia.
Its redevelopment has had a troubled history with various projects presented, evaluated, discarded and re-proposed… however, the time passed has made this bridge, with its temporary covering over one of Milan’s main arteries, a prime advertising opportunity.
Anyone who, like me, frequently travels from north towards the centre on this road could not ignore the imposing billboard marketing campaigns alternating on this building. So Apple, the Cupertino company famous for the devices we all know, seized the opportunity and in recent years seems to have taken exclusive control of this space. With the help of Google Maps and its photographic archive, I decided to collect all the campaigns that have appeared over the years — at least those “immortalised” by Google’s photos, as they were updated quite frequently. Some were really charming. They became part of the history of this area of Milan and kept the neighbourhood colourful even during the difficult Covid period.
When the works are completed I think they’ll disappear — but they’ve made curious Milanese passers-by look up for many years now. Anyone who’s passed through here will point to one of the photos saying “I remember that one!”… so here they are. Let’s remember them together.
May 2019
We’re all still unaware of what awaits us in the coming months… and Apple’s advertisers show us how fantastic it will be to photograph the world with our new iPhone. Hopefully many took the invitation to travel, because January 2020 wasn’t that far away… Beautiful anyway — the two penguins and the giraffe looking out over those boundless spaces of the African savannah.
August 2019
Summer time and iPhones in a thousand colours! Viale Melchiorre Gioia lights up with flying iPhones on a white background.
September 2020
We’re now in the middle of various Covid lockdowns and Apple’s advertisers, with unconscious irony, tell us… “well… now you can spend some time retouching your photos.” A bitter smile for Milan… but still so much colour to lift our spirits.
November 2021
Here we shift to a more elegant style for the new iPhone 13…. no white background but strong contrasts nonetheless.
September 2022
This campaign could be called “Desire for Freedom” but actually revisits the historic Silhouette campaign that made the iPod a success. Impossible not to remember it. Lots of colour and a desire to dance (obviously with your new AirPods in your ears…) to celebrate the progressive emergence from the Covid nightmare. Still colour and celebration among the skeletons of buildings under construction and speeding cars.
April 2023
And here we are under the sun of April 2023, with signs already showing of what will be a very hot summer. The most fitting colour? Yellow… Apple launches the new colour that will be a hit among enthusiasts. It’ll fly off the shelves.
November 2023
And here we’ve arrived at the present day, but this time I took the photo myself. The Google Street View update car hasn’t passed yet. The scorching summer is over, the Covid oppression that drove us all to a desperate craving for freedom seems forgotten… and we can move on.
So new campaign and new tone with so much… so much… so much desire for progress.
The new Pro Max is made of Titanium… quoting those marketing geniuses at Apple: “The same material space rockets are made of.” In reality, many other things are made of titanium too, we know… but it’s still fantastic. The city wants to move forward and the new campaign seems tailor-made to represent its ambitions.
Forward… even if you’re stuck in traffic
And here ends my gallery of what we’ve seen in this little corner of Milan over the years. Those who appreciate the Cupertino company will have enjoyed it, but I hope it brought back some memories even for those who don’t follow Apple closely.
Regardless of which side you’re on, I think it’s a nice reflection on how advertising ultimately becomes part of our lives and our history — often without us even realising it.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing… on the contrary… it can bring us joy, make us think… sometimes even give us a little optimism.
Or maybe it can bring a smile to our faces while we sit in traffic at a red light, thinking about how brilliant those Cupertino marketing geniuses really are.
