Ahead of the Rugby World Cup, the Wallabies mascot ‘Wally’ has undergone redevelopment. The team behind the successful Commonwealth Games mascot, Borobi have yet again come together to give ‘Wally’ a make-over designed to connect with fans, be marketable and merchandisable.
“We were very excited to be asked to work on Wally V2.0. Rugby has a grassroots fan base, including kids, which is a great community for a mascot to be part of,” said Ken Minnikin of Tribus345, the company in charge of the redesign along with Cutting Edge.
“The work Tribus345 and Cutting Edge did on injecting new life and personality into Wally has been great. He now has a story and a history, and it’s a story that reflects the proud history of Rugby Australia, and importantly embraces all our values and helps educate our fans and the community,” said Adam Freier, Head of Marketing & Digital for Rugby Australia.
“Collaborating with the Tribus345 team is always a pleasure. Over the past few years we have developed a collaborative process that allows all members of the team to contribute creatively resulting in much stronger, more developed characters,” said Zenon Kohler, Creative Director/VFX Supervisor at Cutting Edge.
Tribus345 and Cutting Edge character projects often include 2D art, usually in three signature poses, and the client has approved, a 3D model is created that can be used to develop character suits and merchandise lines. This model can also be utilised to create animation for use in commercials, marketing, sports presentation, and sponsor activations. Wally is currently supporting the Australian Rugby Team at the World Cup, and sharing his experience across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
