In France, like the "Renault worker", the "Prisunic cashier" has come to symbolize the typical proletarian in everyday language. The name of the store, Prisunic, is an emblematic example of the French consumer society born of the Trente Glorieuses. The sign is familiarly called "Prisu".[24]
In film
In the film Antoine et Antoinette, directed by Jacques Becker and released in 1947, Antoinette (Claire Mafféi) is a photo booth employee in the Prisunic on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
In literature
Prisunic has been cited in books like Libraire, corps et âmes from the French commentator Dominique Reynié.[25]
Roger Grenier's novel, Ciné-roman, which won the prix Femina in 1972, depicts a woman named Christine who works at Prisunic .[26]
Prisunic is also mentioned in the famous Tintin comic book series.[27]
In song
The "Prisunic cashier" was mentioned in song lyrics.
In the 1950s, the legendary French actor and singer Bourvil sang a humorous song about Prisunic called En Nourrice, and Juliette Gréco and Lucette Raillat performed a song entitled "The Time of Peanuts" (Le Temps des cacahuètes), written by Claudine Garan:"On courait dans les rues en s'tenant la main, On dévorait des yeux tous les beaux magasins; On n'osait pas entrer, sauf dans les 'Prisunic' Où on peut se prom'ner mêm' si on n'est pas chic." In 1967 the writer and poet Henri Gougaud wrote a song called "Prisunic" sung by Jean Ferrat, on the album À Santiago, which criticised consumerist society."Prisunic aux soleils d'aluminium tout gris; La musique vous prend dans ses douces volutes; Prisunic Prisunic vos néons sont fleuris; Paraît que le nylon ça brûle en deux minutes."Other songs that mention Prisunic include Les Antimémoires, by Bernard Lavilliers, Machine à laver by the French punk rock group Starshooter, On s'ennuie, by Alain Souchon on his Rame album, Musique vieille, written by Gérard Presgurvic, and sung by Patrick Bruel on the l'album De face en 1986, Guitarist, written by Charlélie Couture on the album Solo Boys, Poupée psychédélique by Thierry Hazard, Allongés sous les vagues, on the album Putain de camion, sung by Renaud as well as the humorous parody song by the comedians knowns as the Inconnus, It's You that I Love (C’est toi que je t’aime).
Songs continued to reference Prisunic well into the 2000s, with titles such as The Girl in Prisunic (La Fille au Prisunic), sung by Adrienne Pauly, and The Limiñanas' song entitled simply Prisunic, on their album Malamore.
In art
The French painter and sculptor Martial Raysse announced during his "Pop" period in the 1970s that the Prisunic are "the new museums of modern art".[28]
In an original and innovative move, at the cultural level, for a chain of so-called "general public" stores, the Prisunic chain sold, in "self-service", between 1967 and 1973, lithographs signed by artists. First of all, through a first edition with creators such as the Belgian painter and engraver Pierre Alechinsky, co-founder of the Cobra artistic movement, as well as the French painter, engraver and sculptor Jean Messagier. Lithographic works by the French-American painter and sculptor Arman, published and sold by Prisunic, can still be found in the auctions.[29]
Following these first sales, a new edition led other artists to participate in this commercial operation called "Suites Prisunic". We can mention Christo, Max Ernst, Asger Jorn and Niki de Saint-Phalle. In 1973, the collector and art critic Jacques Putman, who initiated this operation with the chain of stores, bought the stock of unsold works and then created the Société de diffusion d'œuvres plastiques et multiples (SDOPM).[30]
In exhibitions or museum collections
1980s
From June 15 to August 29, 1988, the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture in Paris hosted an exhibition entitled "Prisunic, an exhibition of new products"..
This exhibition is presented as an "evocation of the history of the creation of Prisunic stores through the great economic and cultural moments and the actions taken at different times. The exhibition, with a promotional purpose, was linked to the launch of a collection of stationery by the brand.[31]
2000s
From September 5 to November 30, 2008, the VIA gallery, located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, organized an exhibition "Prisunic and Design, a unique adventure" on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first mail order catalog published in 1968 by the brand.[32]
From November 22 to 25, 2018, the Design Fair Paris, installed at the Espace Champerret, organized the exhibition "Prisunic - The beautiful at the price of the ugly", taking up a slogan of the brand and bringing together a hundred posters, posters and furniture catalogs of the brand[33]
1980s
From June 15 to August 29, 1988, the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture in Paris hosted an exhibition entitled "Prisunic, an exhibition of new products"..
This exhibition is presented as an "evocation of the history of the creation of Prisunic stores through the great economic and cultural moments and the actions taken at different times. The exhibition, with a promotional purpose, was linked to the launch of a collection of stationery by the brand.[31]
2000s
From September 5 to November 30, 2008, the VIA gallery, located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, organized an exhibition "Prisunic and Design, a unique adventure" on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first mail order catalog published in 1968 by the brand.[32]
From November 22 to 25, 2018, the Design Fair Paris, installed at the Espace Champerret, organized the exhibition "Prisunic - The beautiful at the price of the ugly", taking up a slogan of the brand and bringing together a hundred posters, posters and furniture catalogs of the brand[33]
The Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris dedicated a space entirely to "Prisunic, a store for daily life "(Prisunic, un magasin au service du quotidien).[15][34]
