Although it feels like Wacky Races has been with us forever, it’s actually been almost 50 years since an original episode of the Hanna-Barbera classic hit TV screens. So when Boomerang asked if we could help mark its return to UK TV screens this week, we jumped at the chance.
Having managed to source real-life replicas of some of the most memorable motors from the series, we arrived on London’s Southbank and set about stopping traffic by transforming TV presenter and radio host Maya Jama into our very own Penelope Pitstop.
Getting behind the wheel of the sassy Southern belle’s ‘Compact Pussycat’ race car – and accompanied by Dick Dastardly and his sidekick Muttley – we brought rush hour traffic to a standstill as fans flocked to get up close to the iconic racing cars and characters.
Such was the demand from the hardcore fans and cartoon enthusiasts; we even left them on display at the London Eye – allowing people to snap selfies and get behind the wheel themselves as they were immersed in a petrol cloud of nostalgia.
Needless to say, the story caught the media attention and has already been a huge hit with the pictures making their way on and into the London Evening Standard no less than three times (in print and online), before landing a half page in The Daily Star, a further feature on the Daily Star online and Daily Mail – and a whole host of online and lifestyle pieces to boot.
The cream of the crop, however, was a full four-minute feature on ITV This Morning where Holly, Phil and Rylan all got very excited about this show’s return.
With a whole host of further profile and feature pieces set to land in the coming weeks, we head towards the finish line of this project, having had an absolute ball introducing Wacky Races to a whole new generation of cartoon fans.
