Wallace & Gromit go on the buses...

The Brief

Stagecoach Northwest wanted to raise the profile of their brand in the city of Preston, and encourage passengers, of all ages, to use their services in greater numbers. They also wanted to convey a sincere interest in their customer’s need for affordable, comfortable and reliable travel. They were also keen to ensure that any activity penetrated the industry press.

The Response

In order to raise awareness of the brand we recommended that Stagecoach engage with the public in a fun, informative way, which would attract the attention of passengers of all ages.

Having identified that the world famous animator, Nick Park, was born and raised in Preston we developed a celebratory Nick Park bus wrap that highlighted the animator’s career in an astonishing factual time line.

Using easily identifiable figures from the Wallace & Gromit series, alongside his many Oscar winning films, we produced a fully wrapped bus in the shape of the space rocket that featured in his first animated film, A Grand Day Out.

Beautifully designed visuals, together with a punchy, informative narrative, explained perfectly why Nick Park is one of Preston’s favourite sons.

Sally Woodhouse being congratulated by Peter Sallis (voice of Wallace)

We also ran an art competition, in local schools, encouraging pupils to respond to Nick Park’s brief to create two new characters, ‘Brian the Bus Driver’ and ‘Terry the Ticket Inspector’.

The two winning designs are to be incorporated onto the vehicle, alongside Nick’s world famous animations, prior to the launch on the new Aardman Animations film ‘A Matter of Loaf or Death’.

Related Material

www.stagecoachbus.com

www.wallaceandgromit.com