Riot Communications joins Aardman & Whizz-Kids on epic art adventure

Each year, Riot delivers a pro-bono PR campaign alongside our regular client work. It might be for a charity that helps inspire and empower girls from the least advantaged communities (such as The Girls Network) or one that celebrates the contributions of Caribbean individuals to British society (such as the WGLA). Either way, it allows us the opportunity to work with a variety of organisations that we feel passionate about.

In 2023, Team Riot had the opportunity to work with Whizz Kidz, the leading UK charity for young wheelchair users, on a really special brand collaboration with our longstanding client, Aardman. As soon as we heard about the campaign we knew it was one we wanted to support.

Whizz Kidz’s vision is to create a society in which every young wheelchair user is mobile, enabled and included. Inspired by the childhood favourite, Morph’s Epic Art Adventure is an art trail featuring 50 Morph sculptures designed by a range of artists and celebrities including Tom Fletcher, Ade Adepitan and Martin Dougan. It’s London’s first ever step-free art trail and – as well as providing a step-free, family-friendly jaunt around the city’s famous landmarks – has been designed to prompt conversations about diversity and inclusion for wheelchair users.

Having handled Aardman’s corporate communications since 2019, we had the advantage of knowing the brand inside out, so we were ready to hit the ground running. In the run-up to launch last month, we worked closely with the Whizz Kidz in-house PR team to secure national and London-specific coverage and to provide hands-on support at a special launch event for the artists – see here for a little snippet from the event, featuring Sarah Pugh, Chief Executive at Whizz Kidz.

We were delighted to have contributed to the campaign by securing coverage on BBC One – Breakfast, BBC Radio London – Carrie and David Grant and ITV London. Additionally, we ensured that the trail was featured within listings slots including Secret London, The Week Junior and Kidscreen, amongst others.

This project perfectly aligned with our mission to champion the value of arts, culture and entertainment. Like Whizz Kidz, we fully believe in the power of art to bring about positive change. If you’re in London over the summer, we highly recommend you get involved! Morph’s Epic Art Adventure runs in London until 20th August. To read more about the trail and to plan your visit, head to: www.morphsadventurelondon.com.

Images © Andy Newbold Photography.

The Morphs in the image were created by artists Lynne Hollingsworth, Amanda Quellin, Jason Wilsher-Mills and Olaf Falafel.