Icebox were thrilled when we were approached by Universal Pictures International to design and carve a replica ice throne to celebrate the release of the film The Huntsman: Winter’s War.  As part of the marketing campaign, the Ice Queen’s Throne was installed in high footfall locations in destinations around the globe. The throne was intended as a visually impactful, interactive initiative for consumers to experience Freya’s frozen world in a real life environment.

The sketch and design process of the throne took place over several weeks with numerous drafts and designs being circulated around several key decision makers.  After agreeing to the sketch design, Icebox then carved a full scale version of the Ice Throne for Universal to review and make final alterations.  In addition to the ice sculpture, Icebox also had to design the plinth for it to stand on with the logistical challenge of ensuring that it had the capacity to hold over 1,000 litres of melt water and withhold the 1.5 tonne weight of the sculpture.   Maintaining the look and feel of the film, we created a snow inspired rocky plinth with inbuilt drainage and lighting.  We also had to ensure that the staging was transportable, both in our vans across Europe and folded up on air freight across the oceans!

The first event took place in Central London, followed by Rome, Hamburg, Madrid, Seoul and finally Tokyo.  For the UK and European events, Icebox managed all the carving, logistics, transportation, build and derig of the ice throne.  For the events in Korea and Japan, we commissioned well regarded local ice suppliers to carve the throne.  Detailed sketch and CAD designs were sent to the suppliers to ensure identical replicas and Icebox Directors flew to both countries to manage the delivery and build of the throne as well as overseeing the worldwide transportation of the bespoke plinth.

Prior to the events, the local Universal teams pulled together comprehensive marketing plans in each country to build up anticipation on multiple media platforms.  During the event, partners, influencers and journalists from various publications were invited to participate and share their experiences.  The results for each market were fantastic with extensive coverage across digital press outlets, social media pages, and prime time television and radio programming.

Universal were delighted with Icebox’s global execution of the project.  It was a fantastic project which we were honoured to be involved in and we were overwhelmed by the performance results and feedback.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War © 2016 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.