Hofmeister
Re-creating the iconic George the Bear
It was our great pleasure to be asked to bring back the iconic George the Bear, most well known from the classic Hofmeister beer commercials in the 80's
George the bear was a frequent face in the UK on TV adverts in the 80's and 90's. Fast forward to the present day and Hofmeister has relaunched their beer with a refreshed product utilitsing world class Bavarian-brewed beer. This superior product and brand needed a refresh of their mascot - George the Bear.
Working with the team at BBH, we were tasked with rebuilding the wearable George head and costume elements. They wanted this version of George the bear to be more sophistaced and contemporary than his previous counterpart. Instantly we knew his top hat should reflect this. He previously wore a traditional pork pie hat, however at the request of the agency we opted for a trilby style hat with feather for added flair.
The face design itself needed to remain close to the original mascot head, to be recognisable as the character. We began by designing in CAD to test the proportions and visualise the outcome. Working digitally in this way also allowed us to design the animatronic elements - eye movement and blinks.
The face design itself needed to remain close to the original mascot head, to be recognisable as the character. We began by designing in CAD to test the proportions and visualise the outcome. Working digitally in this way also allowed us to design the animatronic elements - eye movement and blinks.
Several varieties of fur textures and colours were explored, before landing on the final synthetic fur fabric to be used across his head, hands and chest piece. Prior to fabrication, we installed his mechanical elements for the eye movements and mounting brace to allow the head to be worn comfortably by the performer.
The final outcome resulted in George being dressed by the fashion department in cool, stylish clothes - giving off that effortlessly cool persona. Fashion-style portrait photography led the way in the resulting campaign which appeared in print across the UK in publications such as the Financial Times. Billboard advertising also appeared in the famous Picadilly Lights, London as well as digital ads running across social media platforms.