How hidden advertising became the "Betty Bossi" legend

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• Betty Bossi started out in 1956 as a simple advertising character for margarine and became the most influential cook in Switzerland.
• The fictional housewife became a media and cooking empire that sold millions of books, appliances and recipes.
• With Coop at the helm, the brand developed into a nationwide convenience giant.
• The movie "Hallo Betty" now tells the story of its inventor Emmi Creola-Maag, who created an icon against the odds.

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The film "Hallo Betty" is showing in cinemas from today - and tells the amazing story of a Zurich advertising copywriter who was initially only supposed to boost margarine sales in 1956, but who created a Swiss cult figure in the process.

In five points, blue News shows how a fictional housewife became the country's best-known cook - and a brand that still earns Coop millions today.

The truth is simple: Betty Bossi does not exist.

She was invented in the mid-1950s by the copywriter Emmi Creola-Maag on behalf of Unilever to bring the oil and margarine brands Astra and Sais into Swiss households.

The fictional character was intended to show housewives how versatile the products were - a marketing ploy that worked so well that many fans were convinced that Betty Bossi was a real cooking teacher. Letters poured in, including praise and questions. But behind the friendly advisor was a sophisticated advertising strategy.

Later, hardly anything remained of the Astra brand - apart from a street in Steffisburg BE, which is a reminder of how popular its fatty products once were.

In Steffisburg BE, Astrastrasse is still a reminder of the old industrial building.

ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv

The starting signal was given on April 1, 1956: The first "Betty Bossi Post" was distributed free of charge in the stores. A simple, double-sided newspaper page, but packed with weekly menus, recipes and household tips - and of course integrated product placement for Astra and Sais. The concept worked. The magazines became so popular that you could subscribe to them from 1966.

Cover of the first issue of the Betty Bossi Post.

HSL

The "Post" became a newspaper in the 1970s and later the "Betty Bossi" magazine, which reached around 900,000 readers in 2005. It is still published ten times a year and remains the most widely read paid-for cooking magazine in the country.

There was already a picture of the fictional Betty Bossi in 1956.

HSL

The first real cookbook was published in 1973 - a baking book. Then everything happened quickly: new titles were added every year, along with kitchen utensils and cooking courses. Many books became bestsellers. They were so successful that, according to the National Museum, if they were lined up end to end, they would reach all the way to New York.

The famous "Gelinggarantie" (guaranteed success) made the brand a reliable companion for many women and helped them learn to cook in a fun way. In 1999, the publishing house turned over 65 million francs and Betty Bossi became the most famous fictional female character in Switzerland alongside Helvetia.

In February 1960, Betty Bossi advertised Astra cooking oil.

Archiv Schweizer Illustrierte

Practical kitchen appliances were already being sold from the end of the 1970s - some, such as the Spätzli-Blitz, achieved cult status.

The next big step began in the 1990s: Unilever sold the publishing house and Coop joined in 2001. From 2002, the retailer launched ready-made salads, sandwiches and other convenience products under the "Betty Bossi idea" - with overwhelming success. In 2012, Coop generated sales of around 500 million Swiss francs.

Betty Bossi has been fully owned by Coop since 2021. The Group now controls the product range, the brand and all recipe worlds.

To mark the 70th anniversary, director Pierre Monnard is dedicating a film to the inventor of the character. "Hello Betty" shows the life of Emmi Creola-Maag in the 1950s - a time when the life of the young mother and advertising copywriter was characterized by money worries and family life.

Played by Sarah Spale, Creola-Maag fights against resistance in the male-dominated advertising industry in the film - and yet creates a figure that still shapes Switzerland today. Her recipes not only helped countless kitchens, but also the Swiss economy.

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