timeless vintage logo #9 Calimero

For this new issue of my posts dedicated to timeless vintage logos, I'm here glad to introduce Calimero. In this case, Calimero is not really a logo: this cute mascot was the principal character of tv commercial advertising of "Ava", an Italian vintage laundry soap. Between late 1950s and 1970s commercial advertisings in the Italian TV were concentrated in special space of 10 minuts per days (from 20h50 to 21h00) called "Carosello" and each advertising was in the form of a quick humorist sketch or cartoon.  That was the real appointment for little ones, which looked forward to see Carosello before going bed. Each firm had its own mascot as commercial testimonial. Calimero in this case survived and took autonomy from its original advertising nature, and became afterward a popular cartoon diffused in many country all over the world.

Each episode of Calimero had more or less the same plot: Calimero, after having made countless troubles, ended up with complaining and grieving over his sorrow while claiming that nobody wants him because he was "little and black". As soon as these words were pronounced, a voice-over reassured the little chick saying "Calimero, you are not black, you are only dirty" and with AVA Calimero was cleaned up are restored in his original color. That's true, today this plot seems rather racist: the fact that to point out that to be dirty is better than to be black is offensive indeed. Yet this is  partially confuted by that fact that Calimero in white is too ugly; really much better in black!

Aside this little downside, Calimero became a real character of the modern pop culture, and personified a typical human behavior to feel sorry for ourselves. All of us, at least one time in the life, tried to blame external causes about life downturns, as Calimero, instead to adopt an auto-critical reply. The idea to be subject to an injustice independent of our mighty makes us feeling better than to admit our limits and to try to ameliorate them. This is why Calimero survived during times and became the symbol of an attitude. And I had also fun to make a rubber stamp with his shape and I hope you like it!