Heritage and lifestyle brand, Barbour has collaborated with Paddington Bear for the first time, with the popular character taking a starring role in this year’s seasonal campaign.
Created by Passion Pictures, the festive film (which can be seen below) follows the mishaps and adventures of Paddington as he comes up with an idea for a thoughtful gift for Mr Brown.
“Paddington Bear is a much-loved children’s character who is kind hearted and full of good intentions even if he does get into scrapes along the way,” commented Paul Wilkinson, group marketing director at Barbour. “To celebrate our Re-Waxing Centenary, we have centred the story around a thoughtful gift from Paddington as he re-waxes Mr Brown’s beloved Barbour jacket for Christmas.
“It’s nostalgic, humorous and sentimental and shows just how much our Barbour jackets are loved and become an important part of the family; if re-waxed at least once a year, they can last a long long time.”
The animation aims to faithfully bring Peggy Fortnum’s signature style to life. Every frame is hand drawn and painted with close to 3,000 hours of work since May going into the design, animation and composition of the final film.
Working with Passion Pictures, Thinking Juice – Barbour’s integrated creative agency – was inspired by the Paddington quote “Please look after this bear” from the original story to come up with the narrative and the creative elements of the campaign.
The deal was brokered by The Copyrights Group, with Rachel Clarke, svp UK licensing and retail, commenting: “Copyrights are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Barbour for this wonderful heart warming campaign full of kindness, humour and fun, just like Paddington himself.”
To support the campaign, Barbour is launching a children’s Paddington Bear collection including jersey sweats, hoodies and nightwear, all with humorous Paddington illustrations by Peggy Fortnum – some with a Barbour twist. Accessories include hat and scarf sets, beanie hats and wellington socks.
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