Sophie Bloomfield and Aardman’s Ben Townsend on cracking collaborations for Wallace & Gromit

Guys, it’s always great to chat. This year sees the arrival of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – and with it, some exciting brand activity. Why do you feel these characters continue to endure and thrive in consumer products?
Ben Townsend, Licensing Approvals Co-ordinator, Aardman: It’s the handcrafted quality and the relatability of the brand… It has a homely feel that everybody loves – and that also works really well on products. Our ranges are fun, engaging and feel authentic to the world of Wallace & Gromit. Look at the Feathers water bottle from Half Moon Bay – it’s a perfect fit and shows how we have fun with the brand.

Sophie Bloomfield, Licensing Consumer Product Consultant: Nothing is shoehorned in. Everything is focused on extending the storytelling. The fans are brand experts too and they look for easter egg moments, which work really well in certain categories.

There is a new film on the horizon, but Wallace & Gromit doesn’t have regular content. Do licensed products play a key role in keeping the brand visible?
Sophie: Definitely. And when you have less content, but you do it well – like the approach Aardman has taken with Wallace & Gromit – that keeps it an attractive proposition for partners. And we’re very meticulous about the deals we do and the partners we work with. We don’t want to over-saturate the market.

Ben: And while we don’t have regular content in the traditional sense, there is still new content crafted regularly in the form of things like Mighty Coconut’s VR Walkabout Mini Golf Wallace & Gromit course. It’s brilliantly done and brings in new audiences – much like the new film will. And our VR experience Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway has just been nominated for an Emmy!

What launches would you point to as highlighting how creative partners can be with Wallace & Gromit?
Sophie: There’s the long-standing partnership with Wensleydale Creamery on the Wallace & Gromit Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese. It feels so authentic to the brand and the world of Wallace & Gromit. Sticking with food and drink, I’d also point to Bird & Blend’s More Tea Gromit? tea. It tastes incredible, is a beautiful product and taps into the heart of the brand.

Ben: For me, it’s all about having fun with the brand. Look at the milk bottle ceramic vase of Feathers, inspired by the moment from The Wrong Trousers where he gets caught in a bottle. I’d also point to the Paper Engine kits, which recently won a Gift of the Year award. Wallace & Gromit are such advocates for STEM, it was a perfect fit… And the Walkabout Mini Golf – it’s so immersive. People will go crazy for it.

Good picks, and I’m glad you mentioned Feathers. He’s an iconic character in his own right. How have you approaching cultivating that character in licensing?
Sophie: We’re quite specific to how we creatively direct that. We want different partners and retailers to tell different stories with Feathers. You don’t want to over-saturate the market with him. It’s the same with Wallace & Gromit. We’ve just done a brilliant new limited range with Teemill that’s focused on Feathers. We have an amazing pop art style guide for Feathers – there’s lots of different directions we can take him in.

Ben: I saw a meme featuring the Feathers water bottle and it had hundreds of thousands of likes. People love this character and partners can have fun with him. TruffleShuffle did a heavy metal rock design for one of their Feathers t-shirts – that did really well for them.

Sophie: There’s a wider trend in licensing for products that focus on ‘side characters’ and getting embracing that too. We have a new range with Skinny Dip that features Wendolene and Fluffles. It’s important to cater to those pop culture fans that love all aspects of the wider brand, like these characters.

Without telling me anything top secret, is there anything about the upcoming film that opens interesting doors with regards to consumer products?
Ben: The film does have exciting licensing opportunities, for both new and existing licensees. And existing licensees will feel a halo effect for the brand.

Sophie: There are some new categories we can go into because of things that happen in Vengeance Most Fowl. Bringing back Feathers is an important part of that too.

Nicely teased! Before we wrap up, have you got a personal favourite Wallace & Gromit product launch?
Sophie: There’s a Wallace & Gromit pop-up book that launched in the Nineties and it’s beautifully made. The craft behind it is so impressive.

Ben: I’d say TruffleShuffle’s Wallace & Gromit range. Their designers are so talented – and they’re lovely people. Also, I’m moving house at the moment and I found a small Gromit plush my nan got me in the early 2000s. There’s pictures of me as a baby with it, and now here I am working at Aardman. It’s a treasured bit of merch.

Fab. Thanks guys!