MoPA preview: Here's what the new pop-up exhibition will show at PSI 2024

The MoMA never fails to impress in New York. During PSI, MoPA, the Museum of Promotional Articles, will be attracting attention in Düsseldorf from 9 to 11 January.

In 2024, Europe’s leading trade show for the promotional products industry and Cybergroup International will open one of the largest galleries of its kind in Hall 10 of the Düsseldorf exhibition centre. Under the theme “Tradition meets Transformation”, the globally researched 170 square metre exhibition will highlight how promotional products came about, where they originated, what their original purpose was and what the future of this marketing tool could look like.

Sacrificial offerings, election campaigns, advertising, branding as well as employee recruitment and retention: in eleven interactive room installations and in an integrated museum shop, PSI visitors will travel through the history of the promotional product on all three PSI event days.

Two weeks before the opening, we take a look at five rooms and the MoPA shop.

Room 1 – History

Here, visitors can immerse themselves in the fascinating world of history. A world in which advertising and the labelling of goods have been lived for thousands of years. From the mysterious wall paintings of the Stone Age to the striking identification marks on the pottery of ancient Egypt around 3,500 BC, visitors can experience how marketplaces in the Middle Ages became vibrant centres of advertising innovation. They discover the birth of advertising media at George Washington’s inauguration in 1789 and travel through the 19th century, when Jasper Meek printed the first advertising bags. A historical panorama!

Room 2 – Ballpoint pen and notebook

The evolution of human civilisation, shaped by communication and recording, comes to life in this room. From the first pencil versions in ancient Egypt 5,000 years ago to precise hieroglyphic writing and the dominant era of the quill pen – every era has its own writing history. The second room shows how Galileo Galilei used notebooks and how John Loud paved the way for the innovative biros with his rollerball patent and ultimately the Hungarian journalist Laszlo Bíró. Visitors enter the world of the art of writing and discover how the BIC Cristal 1950 became a pioneering promotional item.

Room 4 – Lighters and fire matches

This room invites you into the world of fascinating fire! Johannes Wolfgang Döbereiner brought the first lighter to life in 1823, but the history of matches is no less exciting. From Jean-Louis Chancel’s match sticks in 1805 to John Walker’s accidental invention of the match in 1826 – the small but explosive articles ignited the world and became popular promotional items along with matchboxes.

Room 5 – Umbrellas and bags

Room 5 of the MoPA is characterised by elegance and protest. From Catherine de Medici’s exotic parasols in 1533 to Jonas Hanway breaking the taboo in 1750 by bringing the Parisian umbrella to London – umbrellas became political statements. The exhibition takes visitors back to the era of the suffragettes, who printed their demands on umbrellas and bags.

Room 6 – Candy and cups

What started out as a luxury item for the upper classes became an affordable treat for everyone in the 19th century. Visitors can look forward to discovering the combination of sugar and cocoa as well as the gummy bear revolution.

The MoPA shop

What would a museum be without its own shop? The MoPA Museum Shop in the immediate vicinity of the exhibition area combines the best of the past, present and future. Here you will find a variety of traditional and, above all, new items, attractively displayed in the look and feel of a modern shop window. In the shop, tradition meets change and shows how to leave a lasting impression on visitors.