THATCHERS Cider has once again joined forces with Aardman animation studio to create a series of commercials dedicated in showcasing the nation's passion for sport.

Aardman, the creators of Wallace and Gromit, used stop motion animation to bring viewers through the barn doors of Thatchers' Myrtle Farm. The adverts went live on sports channels on May 18.

The first in the series sees head cider maker, Richard Johnson, testing his football skills out after a perfectly ripe apple falls from a tree.

The adverts, which are directed by Magdelena Osinska, will run across the FA Cup Final and UEFA Euro 2024 tournament as well as the women’s Euro 2025 qualifiers.  

Next, the Thatchers puppets will be challenged to use their extensive cider making skills to get across the line on the cricket pitch. The cricket adverts will be broadcast alongside the Vitality Blast matches from the end of this month.

It took 34 people to bring the pint-sized world to life. Speaking further about this, director Magdelena said: “What makes Thatchers and Aardman such a perfect match is not just our shared west country heritage, but how we both marry traditional techniques with modern technology to achieve perfection. 

“To bring our characters to life we blend traditional stop motion animation with state-of-the-art visual effects. At Thatchers they use their 120 years of expertise, coupled with state-of-the-art technology to create the perfect pint.” 

Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cider maker and star of the ads, added: “Working with Aardman is a dream come true. We’re two South West businesses, filled with slightly obsessed perfectionists, that have used their attention to detail to become world leaders in their crafts. 

“Down on the family farm we’ve been making cider with nothing but love for four generations and 120 years. It’s our dedicated attention to detail that delivers the perfect pint.

"It could only be Aardman, a company that shares the total commitment to painstaking perfection and is renowned for bringing joy to people’s lives, that could bring Thatchers to life in such an entertaining and heart-warming way.” 

Kate Cox, CEO of Bray Leino, who are Thatchers’ creative agency and worked in partnership on the project, concluded: “We’re really excited about this series of ads. It’s a beautiful continuation of the Thatchers-Aardman partnership which extends the story from last year’s master brand ad.

"As well as aligning Thatchers with sporting events, we really wanted to further immerse audiences in the Thatchers brand, with touching nods to the family nature of the business.”