BRC Imagination Arts and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Create a Traveling Mascot for the Expo 2015 in Milan

BRC Imagination Arts, an experience design agency that Turns Brands Into Destinations, has partnered with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group, to create the world’s first mobile mascot for a World Expo. The mascot will extend the message of “Growing Europe’s Future Together for a Better World” to attendees anywhere on the Expo grounds, as well as into the streets and piazzas of Milan.

“BRC Imagination Arts has created World Expo experiences for more than three decades, but until now we have been constrained by the physical confines of the expo pavilion itself,” said BRC Imagination Arts Executive Creative Director and Vice President Christian Lachel. “From our earliest conversations, the European Union wanted a deeply engaging, emotionally evocative, transmedia experience that could touch the greatest number of people possible. By partnering with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to create this traveling mascot, we transcend the Expo’s physical boundaries and make people part of the story in ways that have never been done before.” 

The mascot is based on the litter of puppies from the film “The Golden Ear” which is part of the overall story-driven media and asset package recently completed and delivered by BRC Imagination Arts for the Expo. 

“This mascot experience is very interactive. We created animatronic versions of the puppies, and a custom bicycle with integrated controls that animate them in their engagement with guests,” said Peter Brooke, Creative Supervisor of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. “This experience perfectly represents Jim Henson’s Creature Shop’s brand and the stellar integration fans have come to expect. We are inspired by innovative ways to bring characters to life and this project takes the story beyond the screen and makes it completely immersive, so everyone who encounters it shapes the story in their own way.” 

In addition to the film and physical mascot, the characters also extend to digital games, social media and physical merchandise.