Lego launches festival to target play deficit

One in five families never play together; a staggering statistic which lies at the heart of a new festival from Lego. 

Running this spring, from the 3rd May to the 8th June, the Lego Festival will be a celebration of play. The festival will run at seven of the global Legoland parks across the UK, the US, Denmark, Germany and Korea.

To celebrate the launch of this new festival of play, Merlin Entertainments and TBWA\MCR have launched a new campaign focusing on the importance of playing together.

The campaign showcases the importance of play for families by putting the power of play back in the hands of kids.

The ‘Girl Who Controlled Playtime’ creative shows how to get a family playing together again, in a way only a child would imagine. 

It features a young girl who’s eager to share her Lego brick creations with her parents, but they are too busy to play.

But when she realises she can control her parents with their lookalike Lego minifigures, she takes them to the Festival at Legoland, where they play together as a family and enjoy the joy of being together. Eventually, she realises she no longer needs the Minifigures to get her parents playing because they’ve rediscovered the fun of it all by themselves.

The campaign launched on 22nd April across TV and Video on Demand. It will also feature an out of home campaign featuring a crowd of Lego Minifigures hoisting a father and child aloft to create the most playful festival moment imaginable.

The festival consists of five interactive Festival zones that will spark imaginations including Music, Dance, Creative and Chill Out Zones, as well as a Gaming Zone featuring Lego Fortnite. 

Emily Stadelman, Global Brand Director at Legoland, explained: “Sometimes we all need to be reminded of the importance of taking some time out, having fun and playing together as a family.

She continued: “Unlike other theme parks where the characters are the heroes, Legoland makes kids the heroes. It’s a place where children’s imaginations are realised on an epic scale, turning all of the possibilities of Lego bricks into a real-life spectacle of play and creativity. 

Gary Fawcett, Executive Creative Director, TBWA\MCR, added: “Merlin Entertainments disrupts the theme park category making them the perfect partner for TBWA\MCR and our disruption approach. Our campaign plays on the concept that it’s not just play that’s missing, it’s playing together that’s missing. We hope this campaign emotionally connects with families by holding up a mirror to their reality. We could all do with a bit more play!”