Aardman's 'Wallace & Gromit' AR adventure takes over cities

Aardman is bringing its Wallace and Gromit characters to city-scale augmented reality this week with an experiential activation spanning cities in the U.S. and U.K.

The "Fix Up The City" project will take place in San Francisco, Bristol and Cardiff, allowing visitors to interact with the claymation characters, who appeared in classic animations such as "The Wrong Trousers" and "A Grand Day Out," via the cities' architecture.

Using smartphones and a free app, users can take part in a one-hour game which includes interacting with Wallace’s famous rocket, watching Gromit take off in his iconic plane and battling a giant cleaning robot. The features and experiences are embedded in landmarks in each city; in San Francisco, for example, the interactions will take place in Yerba Buena Gardens. There will also be local out-of-home elements to the campaign. 

The experience was created in collaboration with Fictioneers, alongside Potato (part of the AKQA Group), Sugar Creative and Tiny Rebel Games. Earlier this year, Fictioneers created a mobile game for the Wallace and Gromit characters called "The Big Fix Up," which let players explore a virtual cityscape. As with the previous game, the characters are voiced by famous British talent including actors Jim Carter and Miriam Margoyles and YouTube star Joe Sugg. 

“Wallace and Gromit are no strangers to invention and new technology and we are delighted that they are part of such a groundbreaking project," said Merlin Crossingham, creative director at Aardman, in a statement. "For the first time you can actually be part of a 'Wallace & Gromit' adventure, and experience them larger than life, out in the real world!”