Gromit in His Master's Voice
Aardman character replaces Nipper on new ads for HMV store chain
Gromit, of Wallace and Gromit fame, will pose for HMV ads in Britain. The move is an attempt to refresh the chain's image.
(Source: entertainment.timesonline.co.uk)
Francis James Berraud's most famous painting, His Master's Voice, now features Gromit from the award-winning Wallace and Gromit movies.
Aardman Animation (the studio that produces Wallace and Gromit) and HMV have signed a unique deal that alters the classic image to feature the Claymation dog listening to a gramophone of Wallace's voice saying "Nice cheese, Gromit."
The CD and DVD chain will use the image in ads in its 220 stores, in print ads, and in the London Underground. HMV hopes the image will attract a younger audience to its stores, which has seen slipping sales of its product in recent years.
No money has changed hands: HMV uses the image for free while Aardman hopes Gromit's increased visibility will boost sales of Aardman DVD's such as Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run and Flushed Away.
“It is a merger of two much-loved logos," says HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo. "The agreement is for an initial three-month period, but I imagine it’s very likely that we’ll be discussing an extension of this and other ways that we can work together in future.”
Nick Park, one of the creators of Wallace and Gromit, agreed to spend three weeks supervising the construction of a 4" high sculpture of Gromit listening to the gramophone.
“It’s a great honour to be stepping in the same pawprints as an icon as big as Nipper,” says Park. “Gromit will look after the seat for as long as Nipper allows.”
Francis Berraud (1856 - 1924) painted the image, originally called Dog looking at and listening to a Phonagraph (sic), in 1899. It was inspired by his brother Mark's fox terrier Nipper (called because of its habit of nipping stranger's ankles). When Mark Berraud died, Francis inherited the dog and several cylinder phonograph recordings of Mark's voice. Francis painted Nipper listening to one of these recordings and tried to sell the image to several phonograph companies.
After all those attempts fell through, the newly-formed Gramophone Company agreed to buy the image on the proviso that Berraud alter the painting to feature one of their disc machines. The Gramophone Company changed the name of the painting to His Master's Voice, and started using the image in their advertising in 1900. The company also commissioned Berraud to paint more images featuring Nipper and their products. His Master's Voice, along with references to "Nipper" and "The Dog", was also used by the Victor Talking Machine Company (later RCA) on their disc machines and vinyl records.
Victor, along with the Gramophone Company, was swallowed up by entertainment conglomerate EMI, which still has Berraud's painting in its corporate offices. EMI eventually launched a chain of stores called HMV (after the the painting). HMV claims to the largest seller of movie and music paraphernalia in the world.
