Hasbro’s Baby Alive is out with a new campaign called "Ageless Care" that portrays playing with dolls as a way to learn about taking care of older people, including aging parents.
The spot, which debuted in Brazil, is a continuation of the toy brand's 2019 “We All Can Take Care” campaign. The new ad features intimate looks at children caring for their parents and gives viewers a flashback to the adults as children taking care of their 1990s-era Baby Alive dolls.
The ad, which comes from Ogilvy Brazil, aims to break gender norms while pushing empathy and affection to the forefront. The evolution of how children grow to have nurturing skills is put on full display with caring gestures like feeding an elder, combing hair and cuddling with a parent. Modernista is the production company on the ad.
Mathias Almeida, creative director at Ogilvy Brazil, stated in an email interview that playing with dolls can teach a child about essential human values and therefore how to become a better person, which naturally occurs when we are stimulated to care about others from childhood. “Everyone can learn about the importance [that] ‘taking care’ has in our lives since the early stages of childhood. We can see feelings such as empathy and respect for elders as universal values that are cultivated in many cultures. Just like the culture of playing with dolls,” said Almeida.