Lego's first global Christmas ad extols the magical properties of those little bricks
Amid growing competition from modern toys and the internet, Lego has unveiled its first global festive campaign to show how its humble brick can transport people of all ages into a kaleidoscopic, imaginary world.
The toymaker has gone with the tagline: 'This is not a brick. It’s their wildest wishes' / Lego
The toymaker has gone with the tagline: 'This is not a brick. It’s their wildest wishes’, underscoring the idea that there's a Lego set for everyone.
This ethos is brought to life in a hero film, set to the sound of Johan Strauss II's The Blue Danube, which depicts kids' unwrapping Lego gifts before being transported into their own fantastical worlds.
Created in-house by the brand, the colourful, action movie-esque film features scenes encompassing a variety of interests from Star Wars to police cars, dinosaurs to animals.
The ad will hit UK TV screens on 5 November, accompanied by an extensive search strategy which will see 'passion point' landing pages introduced on Lego.com to drive a link between kids' interests and Lego's collection.
A Facebook chatbot called Ralph and an AR filter will also be available for children and their parents to play around with in the run-up to Christmas.
While this is the first time Lego has taken its Christmas marketing global, last year it marked its first UK TV debut in four years with a seasonal spot similarly themed around 'giving the gift of imagination'.
Throughout 2018 the brand has been experimenting with a wide range of technologies amid a battle to stave off a sales slump because of growing competition from modern toys, and the internet.
To safeguard the future of its business, it's teamed up with Amazon to work on its 'voice' strategy, bringing several Alexa skills to the Echo for its pre-school Duplo blocks and allowing parents to access voice-guided instructions for toddlers as well as stories and audio prompts that guide physical play.
