"NAIF" - Omaggio a Carosello

http://pierotonin.com Italian cartoonist Piero Tonin pays homage to Carosello* and the great masters of Italian animation: Osvaldo Cavandoli, Carlo "Perogatt" Peroni, Bruno Bozzetto, Gino Gavioli. Music by Sonia Brex (inspired by Piero Umiliani's "Arabian Synthesizer").

Carosello* (The Carousel) was a television advertising program aired by RAI (the Italian national broadcasting company) from 1957 until 1977, with an approximate 10-minute running time. Carosello was a unique and unprecedented phenomenon, created to circumvent the strict Italian laws that made it virtually impossible to insert commercials during television programs. The show was divided in two segments: a longer comedy sketch bearing no direct reference with the advertised product, followed by a very short commercial message. Basically, the objective of the program was to provide sponsored entertainment as opposed to a hard sell. Carosello was aired at 8.50 p.m, seven days a week, and every commercial lasted 135 seconds. No commercial could be broadcast more than once, so, over the span of 20 years, more then 7,000 unique caroselli were produced (all shot in dazzling black and white, 35mm film). The shows were often shot either as animations or played by major Italian celebrities of the time including Totò, Mina, Vittorio Gassman, Virna Lisi, Ugo Tognazzi, Alberto Sordi, Raffaella Carrà, Nino Manfredi, Sandra Milo. They also often featured foreign stars such as Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot, Jerry Lewis, Pelè, Orson Welles, Fernandel, Yul Brynner, the Kessler twins. Many caroselli were directed by celebrated film directors, often uncredited, such as Ermanno Olmi, the Taviani brothers, Richard Lester, Sergio Leone, Gene Deitch, Pier Paolo, Pasolini, Federico Fellini, Luciano Emmer (by many considered the father of Carosello). For two decades, Carosello provided a unique showcase for Italy's talented actors, film directors, scriptwriters, musicians and artists. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUgdqYyRa28