Christmas miracle for HMV logo

Following on from HMV’s recent revamp of its iconic dog and gramophone logo, branding specialist venturethree and animation company Nexus Productions have teamed up to bring the characters to life in 11 mini-films.

As part of HMV’s Christmas campaign, Nipper & Gramophone’s Christmas Tales, the duo’s animated antics will be aired in the run-up to Christmas as well as on a dedicated microsite. Visitors to the flagship HMV store on Oxford Street will also be greeted by sculptures of the pair in the window.

“[HMV's] unique logo was a great starting point, but we had to do more than make Nipper and Gramophone move – we had to create two lovable characters with their own special personalities,” explains venturethree creative director Jason Lowings.

As HMV’s brand guardian, venturethree provided the concept, character development, stories and creative direction for the campaign, with Nexus Productions crafting the films and sound studio Fonic providing music and sound effects.   

HMV is an abbreviation of ‘His Master’s Voice’, named after a trademark image painted by English artist Francis Barraud that features a dog looking into a gramophone.

The first set of mini-films can be found here: hmv.com/Christmas.