Who doesn’t love Cadbury Chocolate?
Especially when it’s a box of Favourites, where you get to pick and share the ones you love the most.
What if we also said it was 10 metres high, in the middle of Sydney City, with the Breakfast Team from 2DayFM, and a prize inside worth $1 million?
Have we got your attention yet? Here’s how Big Kahuna Imagineering created this sweet work of chocolatey art that attracted quite a lot of attention.
From the beginning
It was great to hear the big idea, requested for Cadbury:
Design, Build and Execute a giant Cadbury Favourites box at scale to raise awareness of the brand, attract a lot of attention, offer that speccy selfie and give away prizes to the public including 11 Cadbury Favourites varieties – wait, yes, chocolate Pizzas and Donuts!
Already quite the ambitious project, our client also wanted people to descend into the box to pick a giant-sized prize (from the super sized chocolates inside) But wait, yes – dangling from the hook of a 20 Tonne Crane as if a human Claw in a skill tester machine!
The idea was that one contestants would emerge a winner, with a prize ranging from $25,000 to $1 million!
Bringing all the many pieces together
Suffice to say – this was not going to be a simple project.
There were stunt and safety concerns which all needed to be addressed and supervised – not to mention building the tower itself. Also, the NSW Lotteries Insurance Underwriter needed to be involved in the planning stages as well, due to the competition element.
Sounded like the perfect fitting gig for BKI – Super Scale is what we do best, after all…
First, we secured the most experienced specialised team, including: Two Way Cranes, Spider Monkey Constructions, Look Print,
Event Engineering, TriPoint Rigging, – because this Harbourside venue is NOT one for your first rodeo!!
BKI set about the design and build to realise this coolest creative on budget to eventually bring our heavyweight team together and Get it Done!
Preparing a real treat for Sydney
Will Colhoun, Technical and Creative Director, began sketching out all of the details required and along with our storyboard artist, Dean Mortensen of ScenesByDean, came up with the initial render of the concept.
Our industrial designs were drawn-up in house and tested in CAD engineering modelling by Morgan at Event Engineering before construction commenced.
To replicate the iconic Cadbury Favourites box at such a large scale while ensuring its structural integrity, we built in steel and appended to a scaffold tower with a view to printed taut fabric livery rags carefully scaled to effect the giant planar trapezoidal prism. To a very structural steel crown topper were affixed the four box top flaps – one being over 4 x 2m in dimension – but still appearing thin like a cardboard flap – at 10 metres up in the wind, mind you!
While it may appear to look like a simple construction, it was anything but. We used exterior rated aluminium-waffled, 0.5mm skin aluminium composite panelling, ultra high molecular weight slip-tape over the crown’s bearing surfaces, super-strength slim Velcro and stainless steel eyelets x 90 units around to secure the 4.5mm clear plastic window panel. Everything bundous!
Jon from Spidermonkey and I sent ‘the new boy’, Alec, up flying in testing to check out the stunt balancing.
This was again tested prior to the big day by our team to be sure, to be sure!
It did, of course all have to work perfectly for the look and to make sure there was no feeling their way by the amateur stunt victim – Ash London, on the day – dangling at the mercy of Two Way Cranes’ 20 Tonne all terrain crane.
Ash London putting her faith in the stunt and build team
Colour matching was meticulous by Maria and Nick at Look Print.
There were 8 tonnes of ballast in its sturdy construction, with precision adjustment of the vertices from the base all the way up to the flaps on the top. However, it all came together due to co-ordinated hard work and a lot of detailed planning. The signature window of the iconic Favourites package was effected via 4.5mm Arytuff which is in fact more durable than polycarbonate. It mounted upon a water-jet cut Structural aluminium perimeter frame for rigidity and securitisation to the scaffold structure – but without any wavy lines interfering with the sight line through to the soft furnishings of the OS chocolate varieties inside.
Our Favourites day!
The event was on at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney’s Circular Quay on 5th October – and the giant Cadbury Favourite’s box looked awesome in its setting.
Due to the location, Sydney Port Authority and the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal held the authority to permit the stunt, together with our own safety stunt team making safe.
Despite so many teams involved, the Big Kahuna Imagineering crew brought it all together seamlessly. In fact, after only one test run, we had the box up safely in one day, tackling windy late afternoon conditions to finish.
Ash London, from the 2DayFM breakfast team was a fantastic sport, along with host, Grant Denyer – who was emceeing the day. The crowds were treated to the main spectacle, as well as 2DayFMs Black Thunders in attendance, Claw Machine Skill Testers as well as those unique foods!
Charismatic Grant Denyer cradles a Crunchie! Obviously HIS favourite.
Representing 20 years of amazing construction history.
“This was a particularly dear project to me,” said Will Colhoun, “My very first job as Big Kahuna Imagineering was in 2000 for Cadbury. And now, 20 successful years on, we have had the opportunity to work with this iconic brand once again.”
In fact, Will’s first little gig was a 45mm tall cylindrical sampler box form-model for the Cadbury bites predecessor “Chocettes”.
This time, however the box was a full 10,000 mm tall ! Bit of a difference… 😉
The Outcome
The day was a fantastic success, with big smiles from people and the scope of clients, alike.
It was an honour to be involved in making such a phenomenal project come to life in the heart of Sydney to create such a buzz on a long weekend. Ash didn’t pull out the $1M Boost but handed over a $25K prize winner to Grant, when she’d returned to earth.
We went about the de-install and left the site immaculate by 7.30 pm. More smiles and a big Phew!
6P’s never felt so good. “6P’s?” I hear you ask… Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance!
It really was a treat from the idea requested through designing, building and executing this BIG stunt installation for our client – really good to see Utzon’s little piece in the shots, too… he’s making a bit of a habit of it for us! *
(*Ref. MCA Sculpture Terrace, Fountain, by Hany Armanious; P&O Cruises, Birthday Cake; Blackmores Sydney Running Festival; Huggies Heart.)
We really believe it’s important to give thanks where thanks are due: So, Super thanks to the dedication of the BKI Crew:
Will, Paul, Jen Ben M, Chad, Justin, Alec, John, Ben L and Jo Woodcroft!
Again, we Got it Done – Well done!
Think of what Big Kahuna could do for your next project!
We couldn’t be happier with the result, and that’s why our team do what we do, after all!
At Big Kahuna Imagineering, we love to be challenged and want to hear what big idea you have for your business or brand.
As you’ll see from our previous work, no project is too complicated, too strange or extraordinary. Our team of Imagineers use creativity and innovation to turn any idea into a reality.
Have an idea or project you would like to discuss? Get in touch!
Tel: +61 2 9810 6299
Email: bki@bki.com.au
Call us or drop us an email and we will get back to you pronto!
At Big Kahuna…You imagine. We Imagineer.