Magic Light Pictures has revealed a new collaboration with Team GB to create a multi-layered Gruffalo and Friends x Team GB summer activation.
The initiative includes a clothing and accessories line and themed activities for kids aged between 3 and 8 years to get involved in an action-packed summer of sport. The collaboration has been brokered in partnership with Team GB’s licensing agent, The Point 1888.
Working with five-time Olympic track cycling champion and mum of two, Dame Laura Kenny, as the campaign ambassador, the activation will focus on different areas of fitness, wellbeing and friendship based around values including resilience, determination and inclusivity shared by both the well-loved children’s characters and elite athletes.
The campaign will run in-store, online and across media outlets via influencer and marketing activity.
To help kids get ready to join in the fun, a product range of children’s sporting apparel and accessories will be made exclusively available to ASDA customers online from the end of June and in-store from 17 July up and down the country.
The range of products includes t-shirts, shorts, bucket hats, backpacks, socks, clogs and pyjamas, combining the Team GB brand with the illustrated characters based on the popular books by writer Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler.
The partnership coincides with the year of the 25th anniversary of The Gruffalo but also features characters from Zog and the Flying Doctors, Superworm, Stick Man, The Smeds and The Smoos, plus The Snail and the Whale.
The campaign will include a downloadable activity pack that parents and caregivers can find on a bespoke microsite alongside a series of short videos illustrating how kids can keep active and celebrate the Olympic values.
The characters will each use their unique skills to promote a different area of health and wellbeing – from Superworm’s super stretchy warm up and cool down routines and racing activities with Stick Man, to learning about why exercise is good for you with the Flying Doctors and how food impacts the body with Mouse from The Gruffalo.
The activities will be circulated to schools via Scholastic Book Club’s newsletter, and also available to download from The Gruffalo and Friends x Team GB website for families and play groups to take part in too.
Dame Laura Kenny, who not only exemplifies sporting excellence but is also a mother of two, will act as the official media ambassador for the campaign.
“The Gruffalo and Friends have long brought a sense of exploration and fun to kids and families, and this new partnership with Team GB allows us to explore these stories and their themes in a new way,” commented Alex Sanson, senior brand manager at Magic Light Pictures. “We want to give children the tools to understand their health and wellbeing from a young age, and inspire them to be confident team players, try their best, and enjoy healthy habits that will last a lifetime.”
Amber Jeffries Keel, senior licensing and retail manager at Team GB, added: “Part of our mission is to inspire the next generation of athletes and to encourage us all to get active and this collaboration is a great example of how this can be brought to life by some of the most-loved characters for children and their families, The Gruffalo & Friends. With various ways for families to get involved we’re sure this activation will be a hit this summer.”
