SlingshotMedia gets NSW Government to change taxi livery legislation for The Lion King launch

The opening night of hit musical The Lion King in Sydney tonight has been marked by a series of media firsts including a fleet of fully wrapped Lion King taxis that required legislation to be changed by the NSW government.

To celebrate its arrival on Australian shores, Slingshot Media was tasked with integrating the musical into the Sydney landscape and into the hearts and minds of those living in the city.

The Lion King is a Broadway musical phenomenon and an iconic part of the New York theatre scene. Inspired to deliver over and above traditional media channels, Slingshot set about bringing a piece of New York to life in Sydney in the form of its iconic yellow cabs, effectively making them a part of the Sydney taxi scene.

The taxi execution was not without its challenges, taking nine months from concept in February 2013 to production and execution. Disney Theatrical’s marketing director Julie Ott and Slingshot’s senior strategist Beck Hamilton leveraged The Lion King’s partnership with Destinations NSW and their relationship with the taxi industry to bring the idea to life.

The greatest barrier being NSW Government legislation that prevented removal of approved livery on cabs to be replaced with a full vehicle Lion King wrap.  

The concept was developed by Slingshot Media and design work completed by Slingshot Production creating a valuable new asset for the City of Sydney for future special events. A committed team from Destinations New South Wales, Disney Theatrical Productions, Cabcharge and Slingshot successfully had legislation changed by the Government for an approved period of time.

A fleet of 50 Sydney cabs have been completely wrapped in preparation for the opening night at The Capitol Theatre Sydney. The cabs will also form part of the opening night celebrations and will be on the streets of Sydney until the end of January 2014.

In May The Daily Telegraph was wrapped with its masthead fully integrated into the creative, the first time this has been done. There is also an outdoor domination by JC Decaux in George Street.

“It’s sensational to see Destination New South Wales, Cabcharge and the NSW Taxi Council embrace our concept,” said Beck Hamilton, senior strategist Slingshot Media. “The cabs turn heads; you can’t help but get excited about the musical when you see one drive by.

“It’s been a group effort; our production team led by Jonathan Worsley have done a stellar job in creating the graphics and translating them into a 3D medium.

“I’m especially proud of the fact we never gave up. We’re all about taking our clients to places previously thought impossible and we would like to think we’ve achieved this for Disney.”