Flushed Away DVD Release Wimpy Surprise

The Brief

Flushed Away was a joint production of the DreamWorks studio and Aardman studios, creators of Wallace and Gromit. DreamWorks (Paramount Home Entertainment) wanted Flushed Away to reach a wide family audience in the run up to the release date in the hope that high sales would ensue.

Hotcow was tasked with developing a plan to help promote the DVD in the run up to its release.

The Activity

We knew that working with key media and brand partners would achieve the desired effect. By linking up with as many networks as possible we could ensure that almost every child in the UK would hear about the launch. Nickelodeon, GMTV, CITV, T4, Cartoon Network, BBC Blue Peter and BBC Newsround all agreed to run Flushed Away on-air giveaways.

First News, the children’s newspaper and the Sunday Express added weight by agreeing to their own Flushed Away competitions.

Simultaneously we ran an in-store promotion at Wimpy Burger, UK wide, giving kids activity sheets and the opportunities to win prizes.

The Results

We were able to gain coverage on every network with a significant child audience in the run-up to the DVD launch, ensuring that children across the UK knew what was happening. 80,000 activity sheets were completed, 26.6 million people saw the release message, 138,287 people interacted and entered the various competitions and hundreds of children received prizes. Flushed Away was a number one hit.