Thundercats Brand Experience
In 2011, Warner Bros. relaunched Thundercats with a new animated series on Cartoon Network, bringing the beloved 1980s franchise to a new generation. They used a premium, full-page interactive Flash experience on Toys"R"Us.com to promote the series and the accompanying toy line from Bandai.
Unlike the standard rotating A-spot format, this experience lived on its own dedicated page, giving us more space to create an immersive brand showcase.
The Concept
The experience was built around the classic heroes vs. villains dynamic central to Thundercats. Character promotional art was individually masked and animated to fade and slide into view, creating a sense of drama as the cast assembled on screen.
The environment shifted based on factions — clicking between heroes and villains would pan the scene from a bright, heroic background to a dark, swampy, villainous atmosphere, visually reinforcing the duality.
Four tabs ran down the right side:
- Heroes/Villains toggle: Switched between character rosters and environments
- Shop link: Directed to all Thundercats products on Toys"R"Us.com
- Downloads: Opened a modal with coloring pages, AIM buddy icons, and a downloadable "party pack" with printable decorations and activities for premiere viewing parties
- Series trailer: Played the show's trailer in a modal window
Each character was clickable, revealing bios and links to featured toys associated with that hero or villain.
Slide 1, featuring heroes
Slide 1, featuring villains
Modal window with character bio and related toys
Modal window with downloads, including party pack, coloring pages, and buddy icons