Commuters across the city received a shock when the channel set loose a life sized polar bear on the streets to promote its new Arctic crime drama ‘Fortitude’.
The 8ft fully animated polar bear was seen roaming parks, landmarks and underground tube stations on 27 January as the TV network promoted its new series.
Designed to be realistic, Sky Atlantic said the bear took 19 designers two months to construct. Is being operated by two character actors from famous West End show War Horse who studied the mammals’ natural movements, rehearsing for five days.
It is built with two hidden cameras, allowing the performers to see.
Zai Bennett, director of Sky Atlantic, said: “In Fortitude, there are 3000 polar bears to 713 residents. Polar bears are the most dangerous animal on land and present an ever present threat to Fortitude’s inhabitants.
“To launch our new Arctic-noir thriller we wanted to bring a realistic polar bear to the streets of London to give people an up close experience of what it must be like to come face to face with one.”
Credits
Brand: Sky Atlantic
Agency: Taylor Herring and Sky’s internal PR team
Creatives: James Herring, Peter Mountstevens (Taylor Herring), Tamsyn Zietsman (Sky)
(Text: Sara Spary. This article first appeared on Marketing Magazine UK.)
