How Peppa Pig turned a cartoon birth into a cultural sensation

Over the last four months the marketing team behind Peppa Pig have pulled off a masterclass in launch hype – generating real-world buzz for a fictional birth.

Hasbro’s meticulously phased campaign launched with a televised pregnancy announcement – a ‘world exclusive’ which generated coverage across the globe.

Then came the much-anticipated gender reveal, followed by the big finale – the birth announcement and name drop.

Before we get into the campaign – some business context.

Launched in 2004, Peppa Pig has become a cultural juggernaut, broadcast in over 180 territories and translated into more than 40 languages. The franchise generates big bucks not just from TV episodes, but also from books, games, toys, and themed attractions.

In 2019, US toy giant Hasbro acquired Entertainment One (eOne)—the media company behind Peppa Pig for a hefty £3.3 billion ($4 billion) – source BBC.

Fortune magazine estimates that Peppa Pig alone is a $1.7 billion franchise – which puts it up there with some of Hollywood’s biggest IP.

But maintaining buzz and salience for a 26-yr-old kids show (on Channel 5) is no mean feat.

Behind The Campaign

The arrival of Baby Evie this week was the culmination to a perfectly orchestrated PR campaign by PrettyGreen that’s felt more like a royal birth than a cartoon plot twist.

The fanfare began in February with a playful pregnancy announcement.

Mummy Pig broke the internet when she revealed live on TV show Good Morning Britain that she was pregnant with her third piglet – a clip that has generated a staggering 61M views on TikTok.

@goodmorningbritain Mummy Pig has some big news to share! #peppapig #peppa #news #exclusive #gmb ♬ original sound – GoodMorningBritain

Richard Arnold conducted a ‘live’ interview with the piggy matriarch who joined on zoom from Peppatown.

A month later this was followed by a pink-lit gender reveal at London’s iconic Battersea Power Station – a stunt that had social media buzzing again.

It’s a girl pig! Cue wild speculation on potential baby names.

Photo: Ian West/PA Media Assignments

Alongside this Mummy Pig opens her heart in another World Exclusive, an ‘interview and shoot’ –  with celeb gossip mag Grazia.

 

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A post shared by Grazia UK (@graziauk)

Finally this week the news broke live on Good Morning Britain: Peppa has a new baby sister, and her name is Evie.

Baby Evie was welcomed with a royal-style birth announcement, complete with a jubilant town crier, a regal scroll-style proclamation, and the unveiling of an official Peppa Pig birth announcement notice.

Born at the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital (yes, the same one favoured by actual royals), Evie’s debut adds a fresh excitement to the pig dynasty.

This is duly followed with another well-placed exclusive package of pics and quotes in Hello magazine.

The hype has been huge.

Sarah Henderson, Managing Director at PrettyGreen said “Bringing Baby Evie into the world has been a joy from start to finish – a brilliant example of how earned-first creative can capture the public imagination. From the moment we revealed Mummy Pig’s pregnancy live on air with Good Morning Britain, we knew we had an opportunity to build a cultural moment around one of the world’s most loved families. Partnering with iconic British institution Battersea Power Station also allowed us to create a fully integrated story arc – including baby gender reveal – that’s felt playful, surprising, and truly Peppa.”

The response overwhelmingly positive, though some viewers joked that an “I” name might have completed a perfect “P-I-G” trio with Peppa and George.

Others have jokingly questioned how the ‘middle class’ family managed to afford the same private hospital where the Princess of Wales gave birth. (Prices start at £5,900 per night.)

Still, the carefully managed rollout has been a marketing and PR masterstroke – perfectly phased, playful, inclusive and totally on-brand.

Kudos to the writers and animation team who’ve supported the marketing effort along the way with bespoke clips and pics.

With Evie joining the fold, the Peppa Pig franchise proves it’s far from slowing down. If anything, it’s just hit reboot.

The Guardian speculated this week that Evie could be a billion dollar brand in her own right.

Fans will get their first proper look at Evie in Peppa Meets the Baby, a new hour-long special dropping May 30.

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