Targeting the parents through the children in the golden age of Italian television advertising: The...

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Carosello debuted on Italian airwaves on 3 February 1957, where it would remain for the next twenty years. The programme was an early format of televised advertising, which presented commercials that consisted of two parts: light entertainment clips followed by brief sales pitches. Carosello quickly became a household favourite, due in no small part to its appeal for children. In fact, the programme was so popular with youngsters that advertisers targeted kids in order to persuade their parents to purchase certain products. Copywriters did this by crafting advertisements that appealed to the cognitive capabilities of children and adhered to the same structures as traditional folk and fairy tales. This effectively transformed each episode of Carosello into a memorable collection of bedtime stories for the consumer age. This article will explore how copywriters targeted children, the success of this approach in marketing merchandise to adults, and the role of Carosello during Italy’s economic boom.</jats:p>