Posted on April 26, 2019

Wallace & Gromit to help find the audience of the future.

They have conquered the moon, vanquished evil penguins, and foiled plots to steal sheep. Now, Wallace & Gromit, who are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, are about to bring their fans directly into their adventures via an incredible, first of its kind, story-driven experience that promises to bring together these much-loved, globally iconic characters and state-of-the-art storytelling.

From Left: Jason Veal (MD & Co-Founder, Sugar Creative), David Sproxton (Cofounder of Aardman), Chris Skidmore (Science and Innovation Minister), Susan Cummings (MD, Tiny Rebel Games), Scott Ewing (CEO, Potato)

Partnering with Aardman, a consortium of British companies including Potato, Sugar Creative and Tiny Rebel Games, with research support from the University of South Wales, are inventing an exciting immersive experience based on the Wallace & Gromit characters and backed by Government funding.

The new immersive experience will be rich and multi-layered, realised through innovation and technology, bringing Wallace & Gromit alive in an entirely new way, while also creating a new platform for storytelling for the audience of the future. The ambitious plan includes a multi-month campaign leading into a groundbreaking location-based multi-user augmented reality experience in 2020.

Chosen by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of the Audience of the Future program, which is a key part of the Government’s Creative Industries Sector Deal announced in March 2018, the consortium has been awarded a multimillion-pound R&D grant to explore and pioneer cutting-edge immersive experiences. And now, working hand-in-hand with Aardman, they will bring a brand-new adventure in the lives of Wallace & Gromit.

Sean Clarke, Executive Director, Rights and Brand Development, Aardman said, “Aardman is a business built on great storytelling and creative ambition. We are delighted to partner with this bold project, developing brand new Wallace & Gromit content that can be interacted with on many levels. We are sure this will delight and engage fans, offer a unique experience and maintain Wallace & Gromit’s reputation as pioneers of technology.”

Sugar’s MD, Jason Veal, meeting Science and Innovation Minister Chris Skidmore and Aardman co-founder David Sproxton at yesterday’s Wallace & Gromit announcement at Aardman with our partners Tiny Rebel Games and Potato

Jason Veal, Managing Director and co-founder of Sugar Creative and member of the consortium said, "We are absolutely thrilled to be working in partnership with Aardman on such and iconic IP. Using cutting edge & traditional storytelling techniques, we are looking forward to launching a brand new Wallace & Gromit tale that will appeal to fans of all ages.  We look forward to exploring new ways of bringing these globally recognised and beloved characters to life using immersive technologies such as augmented reality and live theatrical production."

UKRI Challenge Director for Audience of the Future, Prof Andrew Chitty said, “It’s fantastic that we complete our line-up of audience facing demonstrators with this hugely ambitious collaboration between Tiny Rebel Games, Potato, Sugar Creative, University of South Wales and the creators of Wallace and Gromit. Their aim to revolutionise Augmented Reality gaming along with the advances in AI, haptics, audience interaction and film production technologies from our other competition winners means the public will be able to try out some truly groundbreaking experiences over the next 18 months.”

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Consortium Press Contact
Beth : julie@fictioneers.co.uk

Aardman Press Contact
Rosie : Rosie.Godwin@aardman.com

Department for Business Press Contact
Chloe : Chloe.Jago@beis.gov.uk

For more information on the Audience of the Future programme please visit www.ukri.org/audience-future