80 giant Gromits descend on Bristol as part of new tourism campaign

The Gromit Unleashed campaign was organised by Aardman Animations with charity partner The Grand Appeal and has seen well known artists and celebrities, including illustrator Raymond Briggs, comedian Harry Hill and designer Sir Paul Smith, create their own versions of the statue.

To promote the public trail, a series of online films, produced by Icon Film, have been created starring the giant Gromit sculptures. Over the course of June a number of teaser films will be released online, with the final spot set to launch on 17 July.

The films have been complemented by online and outdoor marketing activity as well as a Facebook and YouTube campaign targeting couples and families.

“Having the world’s first Gromit trail is a fantastic coup for Bristol. Gromit is one of many Bristol icons and is much-loved among global audiences, so we wanted to create a film using him to showcase the city’s great landmarks and destinations,” said Kelly Ballard, head of marketing at Destination Bristol.

She continued: “The aim is to inspire people from across the UK and beyond to come and sample the city’s heritage, attractions and creative vibe. Gromit Unleashed forms a key element of Destination Bristol’s 2013 marketing campaigns which are part of a three-year tourism marketing investment project led by Visit England and funded by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.”

Mark Terry-Lush at Renegade Media, which created the social media, seeding and online advertising campaign linked to the films, added: “The film uses gentle humour to tell a story about Bristol. The wider campaign around the core films will include extra content like outtakes from filming, CCTV footage, screen grabs, and Instagram images, all seeded across various platforms helping to create a buzz about Bristol across all media and social channels.”