• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 29, 2013

Universal Pictures is promoting "Despicable Me 2," scheduled for release on July 3, with an elaborate aerial advertising campaign in partnership with Van Wagner Communications’ Airship Group.

The campaign, created in collaboration with Maxus and Kinetic Worldwide, centers on the “Despicablimp” -- a Van Wagner airship that has received the most complex exterior makeover for any aerial campaign to date, according to the out-of-home company.

The blimp features original artwork depicting the Minion character, produced using a special printing process for photographic quality. Essentially, the entire 55-foot-tall, 165-foot-long blimp is transformed into Minion, lying sideways, with one giant eye staring back at the viewer.

The six-month campaign launched last weekend with a flyover at L.A.’s Galen Center for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. Over the next few weeks, the blimp will visit other cities, including Phoenix, Dallas, and Orlando and Miami, where it will loom over Telemundo’s 2013 Billboard Latin Music Awards on April 25.

After that, the blimp will visit various events, including the Kentucky Derby and Major League Baseball games. Altogether, it is expected to travel about 20,000 miles for the campaign, manned and maintained by a 15-person air and ground crew.

Last September, Van Wagner acquired blimp advertising operator Lightship Group and its fleet of 19 blimps, which feature a unique internal lighting system, including one for DirecTV that features a giant LED video screen. The acquisition also included American Blimp Corp., which makes the blimps for Lightship. The acquisition augmented Van Wagner's Aerial Media Group, which operates banner-towing airplanes.