Our everydays are ensnared with advertisements. The companies to direct the consumers towards buying their products apply this unique channel of communication. It is exactly how it was at the beginning of the turn of the century. However, the methods and tools did change, just as the style of the graphics and the art genre, the given political situation but the object was always the same: to win consumers.

The new temporary exhibition of the Hungarian Museum of Electricity presents the past hundred years of advertisement of electric factories. We show posters, flyers, catalogues and a few pieces of the objects advertised as well. There is also a selection of the commercial films of the Hungarian National Film Archives and the film director Sas István.

An interesting feature of the posters shown is, besides their historic value, that they are real artworks on which the trends of the 20th century can be traced. The posters of the Tungsram, Osram, Siemens, Philips, AEG, Orion, Videoton are symbols of arts history. The almost 60 original posters, 100 postcards are the proof that the 'industrial' commercial graphics was an important part of social communication.

The material was provided by the Kiscell Museum of the Budapest Historic Museum, the Szabó Ervin Library of Budapest, the Museum of Transportation, the Hungarian Electro-Technical Museum, the Hungarian National Film archives, the Hungarian National Museum, the National Széchényi Library, the Elekthermax Archives, the Tungsram Colelction, the private collectors Bedő József, Gyökér István, Sitkei Gyula and teh film director Sas István.

We trust that the needy pieces shown at the exhibition, the funny posters and the surprising ads will be a pleasant experience to our visitors.