Lego is targeting frustrated grown-ups in its first global campaign specifically aimed at an adult audience, with humorous ads that focus on the benefits of brick-building.
The "Adults Welcome" campaign encourages people to turn to Lego building to help them find a moment of mindfulness in their hectic lives (much as, perhaps, adults have turned to coloring books over the past few years as therapy). It was created following global research from the Lego Group that found that 91% of adults say they experience stress at least once annually, with 77% checking emails when they aren’t at work, and 64% worrying about work even when they aren’t there.
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The new spots feature the tagline "Find your flow." According to Lego, the idea centers on the "power of the rhythmic, repetitive motions of Lego building which help adults create a zen-like state of focused relaxation." The company offers over 90 products aimed at adults in its portfolio.
The campaign, which was created by Lego's internal creative agency, includes three humorous films in which adult characters end up using Lego to relax after grappling with the frustrations of daily life. We see them struggling with annoyances such as hitting your head on a cupboard, finding a flat tire, failing to put on fitted sheets or squeezing lemon in your eye. The scenarios are offset by a deadpan 1950s-style narrator, informing us in stilted fashion how focused and organized the protagonists' lives are. Kai Kurve of production company Hobby helmed the ads, which feature a bright color palette and mix the retro and the modern in a highly stylized world.