Sky Atlantic wanted to create an intriguing spectacle to drive excitement and intrique around their hotly anticipated arctic crime drama ‘Fortitude’.
We wanted to create a talking point that would run from social media to mainstream news while prompting curiosity among viewers for whom drama would not normally be their thing.
The Campaign
48 hours before the launch of the show an 8 ft long, fully animated ‘adult male polar bear’ was unleashed onto the streets of London.
The bear was spotted at locations across the capital, including Hampstead Heath, Charing Cross Underground and the South Bank.
The unique ultra-realistic build was created by our team of Hollywood special effects experts.
The highly sophisticated prop uses internal monitors linked to hidden cameras, allowing the two performers inside to see.
The puppeteers, who spent three years working together as ‘Joey’ in the award-winning West End production of War Horse, studied footage of real polar bears before spending five days rehearsing in order to get the gait and other movements right.
Outcome
47 Million impressions on Twitter (30 Million from The UK)
The show launched with just over 700,000 viewers – the four-year-old channel’s biggest audience to date for a UK originated drama.
Fortitude averaged 722,000 viewers and a 3.5% audience share from 9pm – nearly 20 times the normal ratings for that Sky Atlantic slot.