HUB has once again teamed up with WOW! Stuff to create a standout creative campaign for one of 2025’s hottest global toy releases – the Toothless Puppetronic by RealFX!
Launched alongside the new live action Universal Pictures How to Train Your Dragon movie, the Toothless Puppetronic by RealFX is a super cool interactive hand puppet with over 50 sounds and actions, including a plasma blast, lighting effects, and whole range of expressive sounds!
From TV and cinema spots to scroll-stopping social content, we took on the full campaign brief in-house. Assets were tailored for use across North America, UK, Republic of Ireland, Europe, and Australia, ensuring the adorable puppet would capture the imaginations of children across the world.
“We knew from the start that this wasn’t going to be a standard toy shoot,” said Helen Hudson, HUB’s managing director. “To do justice to the interactivity, the animatronics, and the sheer wow-factor of the Toothless Puppetronic, we had to go beyond both our client’s and Universal Pictures’ expectations. So, we turned our Leeds studio into a cinematic forest set. It was ambitious – we shipped in literal tonnes of sand and mulch, smoke machines and huge movie-standard props – but our brilliant team pulled it off in a single day.”
Our campaign creative focuses on showcasing the toy’s standout features, and we also integrated subtle nods to key scenes from the film: Hiccup’s hand reaching out to touch Toothless’ head, a bucket of fish to delight the hungry dragon, and Hiccup’s adorable drawing in the sand – visual Easter eggs that delighted both fans and the studio.
The project wasn’t without its challenges. With multiple stakeholders, a strict timeline, and child actors involved, the HUB team took on a dynamic support role, balancing the needs of WOW! Stuff and Universal Pictures while managing full end-to-end production, from storyboarding, model scouting and scripting to post-production and final delivery.
Kerry Tarrant, Head of Marketing and Brand at WOW! Stuff, said: “Working with HUB to bring our Toothless Puppetronic to life was pure magic. They totally understood the heart of the product and delivered a media spot that was on-brand, emotive, and full of that WOW-factor kids love. The final piece captured everything that makes Toothless so special – imagination, wonder, and just the right touch of movie magic. We couldn’t be happier!”
