Aardman’s Take On Brands and The Studio’s “Halo Effect”
Bristol-based animation studio Aardman is known in the UK and beyond for its iconic character building and style. Since its inception 51 years ago, the studio’s brand now stretches across features, digital, commercials, broadcast rights and more. The IP that inadvertently came to be from all these years of creative-muscle flexing is endless, along with the potential and opportunities that come with it.
In fact, Aardman’s unofficial fandom Wiki points to an incredible 174 unique characters the studio has created over the years, from the most obscure, to the world’s favourites like Wallace, Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep.
The studio is known for developing and elevating these characters into becoming their own brands, especially through diverse licensing programmes that include products, events, promotions and partnerships. This leads to the creation of immersive experiences, theatrical shows, theme park rides, commercials, and so much more, all standing firmly on authentic connections and genuine love for the Aardman IP.
Brands and franchises alike, such as most recently ‘Star Wars’, have found themselves lured into the endless Aardman worlds and have seen the benefit of collaborating with its lovable inhabitants, allowing themselves to succumb to the unique comedy it brings.
Sean Clarke (below), the studio’s managing director leads the executive team that creates a culture and ethos within Aardman, which, as he puts it, “allows people’s creativity to excel, creating new ideas, stories and experiences that allow us to continue to entertain the world through [the studio’s] unique, funny, and slightly quirky productions.”
Zoe Antonov spoke to Sean about what ‘Aardmanisation’ of brands and franchises really means, how the characters of the studio find their place in so many different environments and what a brand needs to give back to be allowed into this world.
LBB> We want to talk about 'Aardmanisation' of brands and franchises, so it would be fair to start with defying what is quintessentially Aardman. How has that recipe developed over the years to become so easily injectable into other entities?
Sean> I suppose this really starts with why we exist, our mission - to create worlds that immerse and entertain our audience through funny, quirky, and heartwarming stories - and our purpose... which has always been to make you smile. This, alongside what the Aardman name and DNA should really mean to a production with four key ingredients honed over the last 40 (plus) years: comedy, story, character, and craft.
LBB> And when changes to the recipe are inevitably made, how much freedom is allowed and how often are these changes acceptable, in order to keep Aardman a recognisable entity?
Sean> We evaluate all individual potential partnerships on their own merit, both in terms of the production brief and how they would like to use the Aardman name in any consumer-facing way. We are very protective of the strong equity the Aardman name has established over the last 40 plus years with consumers across the world, and would not look to dilute that in any way.
A good example of this was when we were approached by Lucasfilm to consider doing an Aardman take on ‘Star Wars’ [pictured below], and one of the first questions we asked was ‘Can it be funny?’, to which they replied ‘Of course, that’s one of the reasons we are calling you!’.
This does not mean that we won’t consider other briefs, for clients who are keen to partner with our world class talent versus any consumer-facing association with Aardman studios. We have many examples of this, from clients such as Coldplay to Nike.
LBB> There's a difference between infusing a brand or franchise with an Aardman tone and flat out using your own characters - how do you draw the line between these two usages of your IP and what are the subtle ways in which you can still 'infuse' Aardman into something without using your characters?
Sean> At the heart of this really is comedy and our slightly quirky view on life! Executed with characters with warmth and heart, in relatable stories that are excellently crafted and animated.
LBB> And when using your IP for clients, what is the criteria - what kinds of brands do you look to partner with and why? What kind of brand pillars do you look to share?
Sean> We will need to work with brands that share the same values and audiences as the different brands in our portfolio - the partnership needs to feel right for both parties and deliver on mutual objectives with an understanding from the outset that the creative needs to respect the boundaries of the world we have created for our characters.
We have many examples over the years of successful partnerships, with one of my favourites being the partnership with PG Tips for the launch of ‘Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’. Wallace starts and ends all his adventures in his living room with a cup of tea, so it felt right to talk to PG Tips about creating some unique commercials to celebrate the release of the film, alongside a unique Gromit mug (whose nose turned red when tea was poured in) gift with packs of tea. It was hugely successful for both parties, with a months’ worth of tea being sold in a week with consumers desperate to get hold of the limited-edition mugs.
LBB> Tell me about the earliest 'Aardmanisation' of a brand or franchise and the latest one - how have the approaches changed and why do you think that's happened? What were the challenges and the most fun bits of these projects?
Sean> One of the earliest I was involved in was working with Renault and Wallace & Gromit to create our version of the Kangoo with a Kangoo-matic concept, but Aardman’s quirky comedic take on scripts was going on long before I joined the studio, and we have many examples from Spice Girls videos to Lurpak.
As you would expect, there are always some initial challenges around any new client immersion into their brands and their objectives. Energy, for example, is something which is purchased out of necessity, rather than choice, so it is really gratifying to work with a client to create campaigns that add real warmth, humour and interest in their brands and products. The best examples of this are our work we did many years ago with the electricity board with the ‘Creature Comforts’ commercials, and more recently with Npower using Wallace & Gromit to promote energy efficiency.
LBB> You recently partnered with Barbour to invite the brand into the world of Shaun the Sheep, which is a classic example of the above. What makes you choose which brand goes with which character or world best?
Sean> We are hugely proud of our family of IP, and rightly protective of which brands we allow into their worlds. On finding a brand with shared values, we look at how their objectives can support our IP's brand strategy. In the case of Barbour, they came to us wanting to tell a sustainability story and the fit with our Shaun the Sheep 'One Farm' initiative encouraging people to 'flock together to look after' the farm. It was too good to miss! Add to that the farmer already sporting a waxed jacket and the ‘Baa-bour’ campaign was born!
LBB> What do you believe is the value to brands and franchises who choose to work with this very recognisable Aardman style and is there a fear they'd get lost in it?
Sean> There is a real and inherent value, both in terms of gaining traction with the target audience alongside the halo effect of warmth, love and affection with what we have been doing so well for nearly 50 years. We approach all our partnerships in a way that ensures it works for both parties and delivers on mutual objectives.
LBB> What mediums do you believe are best when brands dip into the Aardman world and its characters - for example, when playing with Shaun the Sheep, would it be more favourable to do it on social media or in a traditional TVC and why?
Sean> Our global fans engage with our IP across a huge range of channels outside of TV; from live events and attractions, social, YouTube/FAST channels through to merchandise and retail. We are also exploring the world of interactive storytelling; our recent Wallace & Gromit in ‘The Grand Getaway’ VR experience enables our fans to immerse themselves directly into our character's worlds in a totally new way.
As well as amplifying partner activity through our own networks, we can demonstrate a real understanding of how you build global multi platform brands from film to TikTok, which is one of the reasons partners come to us with media plans, from which we work hard to ensure creative is optimised to support their campaigns. Of course, we love being given 60-seconds of traditional TV storytelling, but the playful nature of social channels brings other creative freedoms, and we value them all.
LBB> Where do you see Aardman's IP go in the next few years and what are you excited about when it comes to collaborations?
Sean> I think we will see an increasingly strong direct association with our fans across the world, through digital platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, and through new technology, increased convergence of storytelling with viewing and gaming experiences on platforms such as Netflix.
