Nella vita tirò tardi
Client: ADCI
Year: 2025
“Nella Vita Tirò Tardi” celebrates Gianfranco Marabelli, Italian advertising legend, through intimate testimonials from friends and colleagues capturing his wit, work, and life.
Challenge
Memorialize a larger-than-life figure without clichés, needed to blend personal anecdotes, professional legacy, and his playful spirit into a tactile, interactive object that feels alive, not static.
Idea
Turn the book into a “wearable tribute”: interactive elements like detachable moustache props and mirrored inserts that let readers step into Gianfranco’s world, bridging memory with direct engagement.
Solution
The cover features his iconic moustache as a removable prop, revealing his grinning face below; title in “Gianfranco Script” – a custom typeface traced from his handwriting – paired with Bodoni, his favorite. Translucent overlay sheets mimic his layout corrections, opening each chapter with scripted titles. Endpapers evoke halftone photo patterns from his era. “Moustache” insert uses mirrored cover for self-portraits in his style. Exposed-spine binding lies flat at 180°; pages mix testimonials with photos, documents, his ads, and original illustrations that weave humor, nostalgia, and classic Italian ad language.
Impact
The book becomes a living homage—readers don’t just remember Marabelli, they embody him, making every flip personal and his sharp humor unforgettable.
Credits
Agency: Lateral Creative Hub
Creative Direction: Francesco Fallisi, Federica Bello
Art Direction, Illustration: Francesco Mussini
Text Supervision: Enrico Bonomini
