Swiss Federal Railways – Superbe

Artist: Herbert Leupin
Year: 1978
Size: 128 x 90 cm / 50.4 x 35.4″

About this poster

In 1978 Leupin reacted to the oil crisis of the early 1970s and campaigned for using the train more often. The slogan is a pun using the “super” from super petrol to portray the SBB (the Swiss Federal Railways) as a “super” mode of transport. The SBB appreciated the design but were initially afraid of provoking the automobile lobby. In the end, however, the automobile lobby didn’t honk their horns about it at all. On the contrary: the SBB head office demanded a statement from the marketing department explaining why the poster was only displayed for two weeks.

Artist: Herbert Leupin

Herbert LEUPIN was born in Beinwil am See in 1916. He lived in Basel and later in his life he moved to the Italian part of Switzerland, where he died in 1999.

Between 1932 and 1935, he was trained at the Basel School of Arts and Crafts, where he was taught by teachers such as Paul Kammüller, Hermann Eidenbenz and Donald Brun. After graduating, he did an internship at the Eidenbenz advertising firm in Basel... more

Herbert LEUPIN was born in Beinwil am See in 1916. He lived in Basel and later in his life he moved to the Italian part of Switzerland, where he died in 1999 ...