Wallace and Gromit are back on TV screens across the UK this week in a cracking new energy efficiency advert from npower.
Wallace and Gromit’s appearance is the second in 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.
In the latest 30 second ad the famous pair are seen in a typically baa-rmy situation when Wallace decides to fill his loft with sheep for better house 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 is on hand to show them and easier and cheaper way to insulate their house for winter.
Set a reminder on your TV!
• The ad premiers tonight during the Home Show, starting at 8pm on Channel 4.
• It will be repeated on ITV1 during Midsomer Murders (starting at 8pm)
• …and on Channel 5 during The Mentalist (starting at 9pm)
You can also watch the advert, a very special behind the scenes featurette and find out more about the characters (including Bob!) on the npower website: http://www.npower.com/wallaceandgromit
And for more information about insulation (and a very cute sheep ruler) visit http://www.npower.com/insulation
Fun Facts - Did you know?
• 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
• 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
