Wallace and Gromit bring down the house in new TV appearance

Latest npower energy efficiency ad: ‘Crazy for Ewe’

WALLACE and Gromit will be back on the small screen this week in a cracking new energy efficiency advert from npower.

In the latest 30 second ad the famous pair suffers another calamitous mishap when Wallace concocts a baa-rmy scheme to fill his loft with sheep for better insulation. As poor Gromit ‘rams’ shut the loft hatch, the ceiling begins to crack and the entire flock, along with plaster and rubble, come tumbling down.

Luckily npower Bob appears to tell them there is an easier way: most homes have poor loft insulation, so it’s wise to prepare for winter by letting npower insulate your loft from only £149, saving time, money and sheep.

Wallace and Gromit’s appearance is the second of a series of npower adverts starring the duo. Each ad will be characterised by Wallace and Gromit doing what they do best and inventing hair-brained schemes to make their home more energy efficient.

The ad, which premiers on Thursday (23rd July) during the Home Show at 8.30pm on Channel 4, aims to highlight the benefits of insulating your loft properly and how Britain’s brightest energy company is helping to make energy efficiency easier. It follows the success of the first npower ad starring Wallace and Gromit, which aired in March this year and has sent installations of energy efficient boilers soaring.

Kevin Peake, npower marketing director, said: “Wallace and Gromit are a family favourite and we’re hoping their enthusiastic and humorous approach to energy efficiency will help people see how simple it is to make small changes and a big difference to their energy bills.

“Although loft insulation may not be an obvious priority while the weather’s warm, now is an ideal time to tick it off your to-do list as you’ll be setting yourself up to save energy and money in the winter months. And even if you think you have loft insulation, make sure you have enough: 270mm is the recommended depth.”

Supporting the campaign are two market-leading offers for loft insulation. For the DIY market, npower has teamed up with insulation manufacturer Rockwool and national builders merchant Build Center to offer 2for1 on rolls of insulation with free delivery thrown in. For those who don't fancy having a go themselves, npower will provide and install loft insulation from only £149.

Further details and terms and conditions for both offers are available at www.npower.com/insulation.

Facts about the figures

  • Gromit’s knitting is real and was knitted with cocktail sticks
  • The time on the clock in the living room is 4pm - tea time
  • To make the dust, a billowing mixture of flour and talc was filmed with a live action camera at twice normal speed and then layered onto the screen
  • There are 30 sheep in the ceiling drop shot, 13 in the exterior and 23 in the end shot
  • Each sheep is individually animated by the animator
  • The black sheep comes from the same mold as the rest of the flock
  • To create the model insulation in Wallace’s loft, 'wadding' was colour dyed to match the npower insulation
  • The West Wallaby Street set was 32 feet long (the longest exterior Aardman has made for a commercial)
  • The visible rays of light are computer generated
  • The hook on Wallace’s crook is made from brass
  • The shot where the ceiling falls took four weeks to complete (two and a half on the studio floor and one and a half in post production)
  • Wallace’s fleecy beard is made from the same fleece as the sheep
  • Five sets were used for the commercial: two hallways (one clean and one dirty with identical props), living room, loft and exterior
  • Look out for the bathroom door sign and cricket painting that were featured in the last commercial in the hallway
  • The loft hatch and hook were made specifically by a local model maker (who also built the npower van) so that they could be rigged to be as animatable as possible
  • No sheep were harmed in the making of the ad

 

For more information, please contact
Nick McHugh: 07795 354 628 / Nicholas.McHugh@npower.com

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