Alpha Animation and Tiny Pop have partnered in an unprecedented initiative which offered a lucky Super Wings fan the chance to star in their very own Super Wings episode.
Finnley Hignett, age five, from Powys, Wales entered the on-air competition, and won the ultimate “money can’t buy” Super Wings prize. He secured himself a starring role within the popular pre-school show, and will make his debut as an animated character alongside Jett and friends, in a bespoke episode entitled ‘Super Wings’ Super Sidekick’. The duo travel to Shanghai on a special delivery, in an episode which teases new themes from the upcoming season six, and features new characters including a high speed train called Tony.
Leading commercial kids’ channel, Tiny Pop, will premier the special episode on Sunday 6 March at 12 noon and 5.30 pm before moving to the Pop Player.
Pop channels head of programming Claudia Dalley comments, “We are thrilled to partner with Alpha on this innovative and industry leading initiative. It has been fantastic to offer UK fans a true “money can’t buy” prize opportunity to star alongside their favourite characters and we are looking forward to airing this very special episode.”
Super Wings first hit UK screens back in 2017 and is now in its sixth consecutive year with dual broadcast partners Tiny Pop and Cartoonito. The popular animated series follows fun-loving Jett and his friends as they deliver packages around the world. It helps preschoolers learn about different cultures and languages, with every episode highlighting the important values of teamwork, friendship and problem-solving.
Alpha Animation VP international media Antoine Erligmann comments, “We are delighted to partner with Tiny Pop on this unique, unprecedented and exciting opportunity to engage fans. It is testament to our global Super Wings animation team in developing such bespoke localised content, and bringing this special episode to life for our prize winner Finnley.”
Super Wings season six launches this year on both Cartoonito and Tiny Pop with 40 new episodes. It features a brand new “World Guardians” theme which tasks the Super Wings crew with protecting the environment. The master toy range from Alpha includes new transforming characters, updated collector packs and a new World Aircraft that transforms into a huge robot, as seen in the animation. The Tiny Pop special episode compliments a series of promotional activations planned to support the franchise in 2022. Super Wings is supported with significant marketing investment extending across multiple platforms, including linear TV sponsorship, digital pre-roll, parental social media, kids press and paid influencer activity.