Les gadgets de Pif : de l’éducation au plaisir de jouer. Retour sur des années de création au Service gadget, 1969-1984

Abstract

The gadgets of Pif Gadget have left their mark on people's minds but have not been the subject of much research as such. Based on the professional experience of Alain Poirier – gadget designer and promotion director at Vaillant from 1969 to 1984, nicknamed "gadget-man" at the time – the article proposes to retrace the history and study the genesis of Pif Gadget's gadgets, which contributed to the magazine's identity and notoriety for years. Starting with the creative process, research and inspiration, how did the gadgets become an essential part of the magazine and contribute to its success? The context of the working and publishing world of the 1960s-1980s in all its complexity in relation to the developments and key moments of the magazine, from the appearance of gadgets in 1969 to the mid-1980s, will be discussed. The human, financial and technical means to achieve this commercial success were then part of a desire to make the toy affordable to the greatest number of people, to the point of shaping a common imagination from a specific visual culture, by combining a playful and educational dimension.

Keywords

• toy
• learning
• popular culture
• publishing history