In March this year, Yahoo! UK & Ireland embarked on a first of its
kind in British TV sponsorship - to follow the life, from birth to old
age ... of a gerbil. Since then viewers of the nightly Channel 5 movie
have been gripped by the voyeuristic snoop into the creature's simple
existence.
Thousands have also flooded to his very own website to find out the
latest news on this cultural phenomena.
Enter ... Warren.
Not since the heady days of Danger Mouse or Roland Rat has there been
such widespread public interest in the small furry species. Indeed, our
friend has made such an impression that the nation is lining up to
profess platitudes of love to its virtual pet.
Yes, you know you're a bona fide star when you're being bombarded with
pressies and fan e-mail! While pet shops worldwide brace themselves for
a gerbil rush, Warren continues to be wooed from the four corners of the
globe: "I am from America and visited England. We watched you during the
Channel 5 movie every night! You are so cute!" professes one.
It seems that even the rodent kingdom has been tuning in to its TV sets
of an evening to watch Warren's latest frolics: "My name is Cloud and I
am a female gerbil! Want to go on a hot date sometime? E-mail back" says
one. Another eager fan asks: "Do you see yourself as a sex symbol now?"
And no star would be complete without a bit of ego massaging: "I try to
teach my gerbils (Fred and Bob) to be more like you. I think they
consider you to be their hero. Thank you for being such an inspiration
to them," another fan says.
However, the heady heights of Hollywood's 'Rodent Drive' are not for
Warren. No, he'll be staying firmly on your TV sets and watchful web
cam, much to the relief of the nation. the screening of old old footage
prompted national hysteria recently.
"Is anything wrong?" one fan implored Channel 5. "They are now showing
early days of Warren and nothing new.And there's no sign of him on the
web cams ... I do fear the worst."
Viewers and surfers of all ages were wondering about Warren's
whereabouts.
One distraught mail also feared the worst: "My wife is concerned that
you're pads-up having seen nothing of you after week 19," the distressed
viewer wrote.
Still, widespread panic was prevented when Warren appeared afresh in all
his glory, prompting the public to tenderly pen all manner of odes to
its mousy muse.
You can view Warren's antics every night during the Channel 5 movie and
live at: http://uk.docs. yahoo.com/warren/webcam.html.
