The fourth instalment of the Aardman Podcasts, short Monthly films with Dave Sproxton talking about the history of Aardman, has gone up.
Although perhaps not as exciting as the earlier instalments, where we saw some new footage and heard new stories, this video describes the important point at which Dave Sproxton and Peter Lord met Nick Park and invited him to work with them.
This period of Aardman’s history is well documented already, but it’s still very interesting to hear it first hand from Dave Sproxton in such an open environment. Comparing it to the last three videos I think this one really has a feeling of ‘something is happening’ and big changes are taking place in the animation world as Nick Park makes his impact.
However, what’s perhaps most fascinating is how much Dave Sproxton puts the emphasis on 'Creature Comforts', especially the Jaguar, and he almost ignores ‘A Grand Day Out’. Indeed, despite the fact that ‘A Grand Day Out’ sparked the Wallace and Gromit revolution that changed the way animation was viewed by the mass public more than almost anything else in history I don’t think we hear the words ‘Wallace and Gromit’ said in this video.
I know ‘A Grand Day Out’ obviously wasn’t as groundbreaking as ‘Creature Comforts’ in itself, and maybe the video editing had something to do with it, but I was just surprised not to hear much about it. The next video will no doubt cover ‘The Wrong Trousers’, and possibly ‘A Close Shave’, so I really look forward to seeing how those subjects are discussed! Of course, it was around this time that Dave Sproxton started taking more of a producer’s role, rather than the hands on animation he had been so involved with in the past, so it will be interesting to hear his thoughts on that.
Timmy is joining with Fairy Non Bio and Fairy Fabric Softener to front a new campaign.
The promotional push kicks off this month and will give customers the chance to collect three Timmy Time books by redeeming their receipts for Fairy products.
The Timmy Time books were created especially for the promotion by Egmont UK’s dedicated customer publishing department, CanDo. Egmont is, of course, the licensed publishing partner for Timmy Time in the UK.
The campaign is expected to reach more than 20 million UK households and will be backed by TV and press advertising and a microsite.
“We are really excited to be working with Fairy to provide UK families with exclusive Timmy Time books that we hope will encourage parents to sit down and share warm moments with their little ones,” said Sean Clarke, head of Aardman Rights. “Fairy is a strong fit for the Timmy Time brand and provides us with the opportunity to reach our target consumer, the primary purchaser, perfectly.”
Wallace and Gromit’s npower adverts keep on coming, and this time they’re promoting npower’s support of England hosting the 2018 World Cup.
The latest advert is called ‘Hand of Dog’, and starts off with Wallace selling WAGs pies (by firing them from a canon obviously!) before the machine goes haywire and it’s up to Gromit to save the day with a scene reminiscent of the infamous Diego Maradona handball that knocked England out of the 1986 finals:
An online 40-second version of the TV ad features the famous line from the 1966 World Cup, "They think it's all over... it is now".
Kevin Peake, marketing director at Npower , said: "We believe a successful bid to stage the Fifa World Cup in England would be fantastic for the country and particularly for Britain's businesses. Wallace and Gromit illustrate, in their fun and endearing way, how hosting the Fifa World Cup in 2018 could also benefit businesses' revenue."
Here at 62 West Wallaby Street we’re in favour of these adverts – they’re funny, and a chance to see more of Wallace and Gromit. Despite this the advert hasn’t been without its critics – some people suggesting Aardman are just selling out. Anyone who has really followed Aardman over the years, however, will know that adverts are a huge part of what they do anyway, and as long as the adverts retain Wallace and Gromit’s charm I’m fully in favour of them.
The runup to The Wrong Trousers Day for the Wallace and Gromit’s Children’s Foundation has really begun – and this year the theme is ‘Wear your pyjamas with pride!’
The Wrong Trousers Day is one of the most popular charity days of the year, and more and more people take part as word of it spreads.
You donate £1 and wear the wrong trousers to work, school, shopping or just at home. The theme, being pyjamas, suggests you wear them all day – but that’s not the only option and you can wear any different trousers, just as long as they’re different to your usual ones!
You can now register for a FREE Wrong Trousers Day pack at http://www.wrongtrousersday.org, so hop on over and get ready to celebrate the day in style!
Our Merchandise Database is not only one of the most exciting projects on 62 West Wallaby Street, but one of the most exciting projects on the whole internet!
We aim to do what no one has managed before (not even Aardman!) – to build a complete, yet understandable, list of every Aardman product in history. This is obviously a massive task, and one that is a long term project.
However we have now made a big move forward by completing our database of Wallace and Gromit products produced since the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Or, at least, we’ve completed it with every product that we know of! What we need now is YOU. If you know of any Wallace and Gromit items that have been made since 2007, but that we haven’t got in our database, please get in touch!
Indeed – if you are a collector of Wallace and Gromit pieces please get in touch. Our database includes the American calendars, but that’s about it for foreign items – as we know there’s a huge amount of stuff in Japan for one! If you know about foreign Wallace and Gromit (or Aardman) items, or if you know a lot about Wallace and Gromit products produced before 2007 please get in touch.
I know a lot of people don’t have the time to become deeply involved, but we don’t need loads of time – even if you can only say “I’m a collector – get in touch if you have a query about an item” that’s great! If you have more time than just to be a contact point we can perhaps work out the best way in which you could help the site by doing something you enjoy. If you are able to take photos, write reviews, or just provide information that would be so helpful!
We are currently planning an expansion of the database to open ‘Timmy Time’, ‘Shaun the Sheep’ and ‘Morph’ sections as well, and with reviews of (quite literally) hundreds of products coming out on a daily basis (one review a day! Check the banner at the top of the site for more) our Merchandise Database is the place to be for anyone interested in Aardman stuff!
p.s. Don't miss our latest Aardmag - with an exclusive comic strip and look at all the new products for 2010! Click the banner below for more!
