DC Thomson characters go 'on the buses' in unique partnership

Help ma boab! It’s the Gnashional Express

Famous children's comic characters, created by DC Thomson in Dundee, are set to appear on brand new city buses in the city thanks to the first stage of a unique tie-up between the publisher and the bus company, National Express Dundee. Hitting the streets from next week, two city routes will be liveried with the Dennis and Gnasher & Oor Wullie characters, with a total of 16 brand new vehicles the first of many designed to brighten up the daily commute for Dundonians.

Oor Wullie will take his place on the No. 22 route, running between Ninewells Hospital, City Centre and Craigowl, whereas Dennis and Gnasher will be menacing their way around Dundee on the 28/29 route operating between Douglas, City Centre & Charleston. The newly-liveried routes will also carry the branding of the characters' titles, The Sunday Post and The Beano. 

The characters' presence on these two routes means that they join Desperate Dan and Minnie the Minx on the streets of the city, as the other pair both already has pride of place as statues on City Square. It's a fitting end to a year that saw both properties celebrate major anniversaries - Oor Wullie was 75 and Dennis the Menace was 60 in 2011.

Head of Brand Marketing for Consumer Entertainment at DC Thomson, John-Paul Murphy said, "We were delighted work with National Express Dundee on this initiative. It really seals the link between both our companies and the City of Dundee - where some of the most famous comic creations have been devised, developed and made truly famous. We're glad we can add a bit of comic fun to these great new vehicles for the city and look forward to working with National Express on branding more routes with our other famous characters in the future."

The design for the National Express Dundee buses was produces by Blake Cotterill, Specialists in Public Transport Brand Identity Design. Blake Cotterill said "It’s been terrific to create and develop these fun designs with National Express and DCThompson. It seems myself and everyone I worked with had enjoyed reading these comic strips when younger. These characters mean so much to the people of Dundee so this really demonstrates the value of understanding customers at a local level.”

Published 12th December 2011