Integrated agency HUB has once again teamed up with multi-award-winning toy company 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.
In 2024 HUB produced the TV, social media and cinema spots for WOW! Stuff’s Disney Stitch Puppetronic by RealFX toy, which went on to win the biggest toy award globally – the overall TOTY award (Toy of the Year). Following this success, WOW! Stuff has once again engaged HUB to deliver an enchanting spot advertisement and lifestyle photography for their latest Puppetronic release.
From TV and cinema spots to scroll-stopping social content, HUB took on the full campaign brief in their in-house studios and creative suite. Assets were tailored for use across North America, UK, Republic of Ireland, Europe, and Australia, ensuring the adorable animatronic Toothless would capture the imaginations of children across global markets.
“We knew from the start that this wasn’t going to be a standard toy shoot,” said Helen Hudson, managing director at HUB. “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 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 team pulled it off in a single day.”
The campaign creative focused on showcasing the toy’s standout features, including its plasma blast, lighting effects, and range of expressive sounds – all key directives from Universal Pictures. Using set design inspired by the film, HUB also integrated subtle nods to key scenes: 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, HUB 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!”
The live action How to Train Your Dragon film is in cinemas now.
