Manchester and London both played host to a larger-than-life chocolate rabbit last week, in a marketing exercise for German ingredients company Dr Oetker.

Shoppers and workers on their lunchbreak around Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens and London’s Tower Bridge on Friday (18 March) were treated to the sight of a giant chocolate rabbit.

Part of a branding exercise for Dr Oetker bakery products, the Easter character handed out free cupcakes to passers-by.

They could also win a hamper of treats if they took a picture with him and tweeted it with the hashtag #BunnyBum

The installations took specialist baker Juliet Sear over 110 hours to create. She used more than 3,000 bars, (450 kg worth), of Dr. Oetker’s Fine Cooks’ Chocolate to arrive at the finished product, which was assembled piece by piece.

Jan McKee, executive head of marketing at Dr. Oetker, said: "We really wanted to inspire baking fans to think beyond the traditional shop-bought chocolate egg and make something more imaginative and fun. We hope our chocolate Bunny Bum will inspire budding bakers and chocolate makers to experiment with our Fine Cooks’ chocolate and create a different Easter gift this season."

"During Easter, everyone automatically thinks of chocolate eggs. When Dr. Oetker came to me wanting to champion the Easter bunny, I was excited to create something a little different.

"When you undertake such an ambitious project, quality ingredients are the key to success. After some expected challenges with the first-time creation, my team and I had lots of fun and were all so proud to have completed it."

The activations form part of Dr. Oetker’s home-baking initiative, Bake a Better Day, which is taking place across half term, Mother’s Day and Easter.