Giovannino Guareschi wrote several short-length screenplays for television commercials in the mid-1960s that centered on a precocious and endearing little hooligan, Gigino Pestifero, who rode a fast-zipping motorbike that terrorized his neighborhood. Gigino’s best friend, Asdrubale, was a likeable intellectual egghead who helped to lead his squad comprised of other mischievous troublemakers. The animated advertisements publicized the Tanara Gelati company and appeared on Carosello, an iconic, ten-minute program that aired successive commercials from 7:50 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. each weeknight. Paul Campani, the famous illustrator and producer of “Paul Film”, created the cartoons.
In 1966 the owner of Tanara Gelati, with an eye both to entertainment and marketing, asked Guareschi to pen a
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Citation: Perry, Alan. "La calda estate del Pestifero". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 December 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=32044, accessed 25 November 2024.]