Leading disability charity Leonard Cheshire Disability has teamed up with digital agency MCM Net to launch a new viral games package as the next phase of its award-winning Creature Discomforts Campaign today (26 September).
 
Creature Discomforts, which features Aardman’s hallmark plasticine animations, was launched in November last year, and the second series of campaign ran throughout the summer. The campaign challenges people to change the way they see disability and the characters are based on the unscripted voices of disabled people talking about the issues that affect their lives.
 
One game of the four-game package will be released on the Creature Discomforts website (www.CreatureDiscomforts.org/games) every two weeks from today. The games complement the existing content on the site, which includes eight animations, a video of the making of the animations and information about the people behind the characters, and will allow users to engage with the campaign in an entertaining and interactive way.
 
This viral phase will engage users through a series of online games based on the characters from the first and second series. The games are fun and easy to play, but also make a serious point with humour.
The first game kicks off using the popular character Callum the Chameleon, and the top five high scorers for each game will receive a signed and framed print of the Creature Discomforts character featured in that game. They will also be entered into a prize draw, from which one winner will receive a special ’money-can’t buy’ Aardman Animations related prize, which is to be announced shortly.
 
Stephen Elsden, Marketing Manager at Leonard Cheshire Disability said: "I am delighted to be working with MCM Net on our Creature Discomforts viral games. Their expertise and creativity should ensure that many thousands of new people become aware of our campaign, and change the way they see disability."
The Creature Discomforts campaign also features seven other characters including a stick insect who uses a walking stick, a shrimp who uses a wheelchair, a tortoise who uses crutches and a hearing impaired Cheshire cat. The campaign is already making an impact with more than a third of people admitting that they have more to learn about disability and one in ten saying that they now know that they need to behave differently to disabled people.
 
Richard Rapley, Marketing Director at MCM Net says: “The Creature Discomforts TV adverts were hugely popular, so naturally we are excited that Leonard Cheshire Disability has chosen MCM Net as their digital partner for the development of the games.  Working alongside the charity has been an enjoyable process, and the games will work hand in hand with the TV commercials to change many misconceptions of disability that are unfortunately still prevalent in our society”.
 
Leonard Cheshire Disability and MCM Net will be working closely with Rubber Republic, a seeding agency that has successfully promoted campaigns for Greenpeace, Easyjet, Sony, and JVC.