Cristina D’Avena, legendary interpreter of the most famous themes of cartoons, and Carletto, the most curious chameleon of the universe, an icon of fun branded Findus, sing together in a funny and surprising song: “La Canzone di Carletto”. The song is on air on Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube from Sunday, March 20 2022, the day when the famous crepes celebrate the first Sofficini Day.

Cristina D’Avena has been for entire generations the voice of the acronyms of all successful cartoons, a face loved and known by young and old. After 40 years of career with over 7 million copies sold, is a pop icon and style and a darling of pop music. Back from the success of the albums “Duets – Tutti cantano Cristina” and “Duets Forever” and from the recent participation in the tv program “The Masked Singer”, today is back in an exceptional featuring with a real showman, the irreverent chameleon Carletto, since 1998 the face of the brand Sofficini.
Carletto’s song is the perfect soundtrack to turn the evening into a party for the whole family with Findus Sofficini, synonymous with taste and fun at the table.

«I dueted with many friends, but when Carletto arrived I said … wow what a happiness! I like to go further with fantasy and I’ve always liked Carletto, he’s a symbol in everyone’s memories – said Cristina D’Avena – La Canzone di Carletto is very catchy and funny, he’s very nice. The song gives joy and serenity, it gives color, and today more than ever we need it. Singing La Canzone di Carletto makes us smile and it is good for our heart. Carletto helps us to go further, to have fun and to party in company».

«It is a great pleasure for us to have met an artist so beloved as Cristina D’Avena, icon for entire generations – said Andrea Passamonti, Marketing Manager Local Brands & Enterprise of Findus – His collaboration with our Carletto, The chameleon loved by millions of Italian families and the identity of our brand, best reflects the spirit of Sofficini and the ‘Sofficini Evening’: lightheartedness, joy and sharing. We would like to see Carletto’s Song become a real hymn to the fun and joy of being together: a Sofficini Evening in the company of Cristina D’Avena can really become the perfect evening!».

It was 1998 when Carletto landed on TV in a TV commercial by Sofficini. From that moment it becomes the face and soul of the brand, for its ability to best express its identity, strengthening its distinctive image. The chameleon, thanks to his sympathy, the ability to involve and invite to play with him, has been able to interpret the child that is in each of us, succeeding in embodying the brand in time in an increasingly transversal way.

Now Carletto is ready to embark on new adventures, which will see him protagonist in other areas, where to live his joyful and irreverent spirit that over the years has been able to conquer large and small.
And after that with music, new stimulating experiences await Carletto also in the world of licensing thanks to the partnership agreement that ETS has signed with Findus for the management of licensing rights of the eccentric chameleon. With his original personality, good mood, cheerfulness and sociality that characterize him, Carletto proposes himself as an original character able to successfully transfer these values in all product categories where they are rewarding.

Listen to La Canzone di Carletto on YouTube, Spotify and Amazon Music.

Findus – a leading company in the frozen food market and part of the Nomad Foods group – announces a partnership agreement with ETS licensing for the licensing rights management of Carletto, the histrionic chameleon that has embodied over time the brand Sofficini.
It was 1998 when Carletto landed on TV in a TV commercial by Sofficini. From that moment it becomes the face and soul of the brand, for its ability to best express its identity, effectively communicating the delicacy of the product and strengthening its distinctive image.
It becomes the undisputed protagonist of all subsequent communication activities, both on traditional media and on the web, both in stores and in consumer promotion activities.
The chameleon, thanks to his sympathy, the ability to involve and invite to play with him, has been able to interpret the child present in each of us, succeeding in embodying the brand in an increasingly transversal way over time.
Now Carletto is ready to embark on new adventures, which will see him protagonist in other areas, all to be explored, in which to live his spirit joyful and irreverent over the years has been able to conquer young and old.
“Carletto is a character particularly loved by families and children – says Carly Arnold, Findus Marketing Director – in him we saw great potential even outside our category, the production of frozen food. The goal of this ‘character extension’ is to intercept our consumers through levers completely different from the current ones, with new tools and mode. ”
An intuition that also comes from a very positive feedback from consumers: “Over time we have received many expressions of interest for Carletto: that’s why we chose to rely on an authoritative partner, such as ETS Licensing, to explode these opportunities.”
Carletto’s arrival in the world of licensing is a starting point for the expansion of the character’s activity.
The start of the path taken with ETS Licensing will be presented for the first time during the Kids Marketing Days, scheduled in Milan on March 10.
“ETS Licensing is honored to have been chosen by Findus to be the agency that will accompany them in the development of Carletto as an intangible asset and intellectual property – comments Francesco Raiano, Head of Licensing&New Business of ETS Licensing – . This is an innovative project with some examples abroad, but it is the first time that happens in Italy and it is the first time that the starting point is a testimonial character of food products. The awareness and appeal of Carletto’s personality, developed and supported by Findus, are excellent conditions to make it a pop icon and guide its development in other product categories”. 

CARLETTO’S BIRTH: THE CHILD INSIDE EACH OF US
August 14th 1998 is considered Carletto’s date of birth, within the historic advertising campaign The Families of Smile, where families of human beings were replaced by families of animals. Like bears, hedgehogs, polyps, kangaroos, snakes and parrots, chameleons are also the result of the creativity and visionary intuition of Barbara Capponi and Paola Rando, considered the mothers of Carletto, who was then “adopted” by the copywriter Filippo Santi.
For the realization of the puppets the choice falls on the best: the agency Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson who, among other things, had created the unforgettable Muppets.
Thus were born, one after the other, the protagonists of the Families of Smile, manually animated by experienced English puppeteers, such as the classic “glove” puppets, and partly remote controlled, “very sophisticated creatures”.
The winning idea? Make Carletto the “stomach” of the consumer: that childish greed that represents the desire of Sofficini and that roars to the cry “You are not hungry?”.
Over the years, the fascinating animatronic puppet is replaced by 3D computer graphics and digital animation, but its naughty and alluring nature remains intact.

THE RISE OF CARLETTO, PROTAGONIST OF A THOUSAND ADVENTURES
Since 2002 Carletto is at the center of the most varied gags in television commercials, protagonist in consumer promotion, main attraction of dedicated events, the unmistakable face of all the packages of the range Sofficini and unleashed mascot on social networks.
With his irresistible sprint, Carletto moves with agility in instant marketing campaigns and is the perfect animator for the Sofficini Evening, the most awaited evening of the week, a cheerful and carefree dinner loved by adults and children, where fun is king.
In 2013 the chameleon plays the role of a perfect judoka with the catchphrase “And you could do it?” To accomplish his impossible mission, break with a single move a trunk containing a Sofficino; the following year Carletto, in a tuxedo, shows up in Sanremo with his first hit “Hai capito il piccoletto”, attempting the climb to success.
And again, special investigator, footballer and even bohemian painter when in 2017 with the famous question “Can you improve a masterpiece?” he picks up palette and brush to paint a work of which he is very proud: the new Mona Lisa.
In 2020 he is at the center of a successful multi-channel campaign, crossing the different eras when Sofficini have cheered the meals of the Italians, from the seventies to today, while in 2021 he travels throughout the peninsula bringing all consumers “Around Italy with Carletto.”

FINDUS
Findus is a brand owned in Italy by CSI – Compagnia Surgelati Italiana SpA – a leafing company in the producion and marketing of products in the frozen food sector and inludes among its brands some of the most known and loved in Italy. The portfolio also includes brands such as Quattro Salti in Padella, Sofficini, Capitan Findus and many others.
www.findus.it

Chefclub, the world’s leading eatertainment digital brand, has proudly announced its expansion into the world of animation with Chefclub Friends (52 x 11, TBC), an edutainment series for 5 to 7 year olds starring the beloved animated mascots from Chefclub’s dedicated kids’ network, Chefclub Kids.

Chefclub Friends is an action-comedy edutainment series that sets out to build on Chefclub’s guiding principle: having fun in the kitchen!  The series is inspired by the immersive universe of the Chefclub Kids’ channel, where entertaining recipes, zany kitchen characters and specially made utensils for little chefs have helped cooking become a new form of playtime that brings the whole family together.

Chefclub is currently the No. 1 cooking brand in the world on social media with an unparalleled level of success since its launch in 2016: 100 million followers and 2.5 billion global views a month; five themed channels (Original, Kids, Light & Fun, Daily and Cocktails); licensing agents in the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, China, and Benelux; a D2C and D2R consumer product business; a publishing division with 700,000 books sold to date; and two Licensing International Awards for Best Digital Brand in France (2019) and Germany (2021).

Chefclub Friends follows intrepid kitchen enthusiasts Maurice, Lola, Carlton, Colette, Elvis, and the Kikitos as they set out to discover the world. Their roadmap? A passion for cooking and a curiosity as big as their appetite! Together they discover the world through their eyes and their tastebuds. In their quest for new ingredients, flavors and traditional recipes, the Chefclub friends team up with cooks – and new friends – across the globe.

Marie-Laure Marchand, SVP Global Consumer Products & Business Development, Chefclub, commented, “The Chefclub Kids’ channel was created to inspire children to cook, become independent and enjoy themselves with their family in the kitchen. Now, with Chefclub Friends, our young viewers can take their culinary adventures all over the world, following their favorite characters to discover new recipes and cultures. An animated series is a natural brand extension for us given the fantastic enthusiasm we see from little chefs every day, as they learn that cooking is one of the healthiest, most sociable and fun ways to play!”

The series is currently being developed by Chefclub’s Paris-based team, in consultancy with Development Executive, Maia Tubiana (an executive & general producer previously at Ellipseanime & Dargaud Media, Moonscoop and France Animation), and industry veteran Marie-Laure Marchand (previously at Xilam, Studio 100 and Nelvana). Marchand will present the bible, synopses and script at Kidscreen and Mip TV.

In view of the race to Christmas gifts, the prestigious Wall Street Journal indicated Gamebud Talking Tom as one of the best technological gadgets of 2021.
“If you want to win at the game of gifts, this is a good card to play” – said Wilson Rothman, Personal Technology Editor of the Wall Street Journal.

Gamebud Talking Tom, is the revolutionary “animatronic toy” made by Huge! Play in partnership with Outfit7 and Epic Story Media, at the same time online game, interactive device and toy in a single product.
GameBud Talking Tom is available from October to the Marketplace gamebud.com and in the coming months will extend the distribution channels. The introduction in Italy is scheduled in the first part of 2022.

Wall Street Journal article – Best Tech Gifts 2021 –

With the exclusive fabrics populated by the drawings of Pippi Longstocking, Illustrabimbi has created a collection of very tender, elegant but also practical blouses. Moms can thus have fun inventing outfits coordinated with their children, wearing these original shirts, which allow all the joyful and irreverent spirit of the girl from the carrot-colored braids.

These blouses with the lively drawings of Pippi Longstocking by Ingrid Van Nyman are in organic cotton certified GOTS, which ensures maximum safety for delicate skin of the little ones, and can be purchased on Illustrabimbi online shop.