Lego's 'playable' action movie shows parents the value of play

Lego has launched a campaign that includes a five-minute "playable" action movie to highlight a global deficit in children’s play. 

"Play is your superpower" responds to global research that found, on average, children spend just 2% of their week (around seven hours) playing. An average adult spends 26 hours a week scrolling on their smartphone (3.5 hours a day) in comparison. 

“With this campaign, we aim to reframe the way adults see play and its many benefits and encourage them to reprioritise it in their family lives. It should be seen as just as important as reading children a bedtime story or helping them eat well to boost their health,” Alero Akuya, vice-president of brand development at the Lego Group, said. 

“If we don’t recognise that factoring in time for a child to play each day is imperative to their wellbeing and future success, we’re going to have a generation of young adults missing vital skills.” 

The campaign is led by a five-minute "playable" film called “Play Is Your Superpower”, directed by Ellen Kuras. 

The film opens during Take Your Kids to Work Day at Valcorp HQ, led by a work-obsessed chief executive played by US actor Jane Lynch. In the Chinese adaption, Sun Li takes on the role.

With the adults hard at work, the children soon become bored and decide to improve the dull day by playing around with some Lego blocks.

The kids disrupt the office with their play, but the CEO eventually warms to them after witnessing the impact they make on her employees. 

Lego claims the ad is "fully playable" as children and their parents can unlock digital experiences while watching. These experiences include building an avatar or collecting virtual cards. 

The film also includes Easter eggs for children to spot, including a cameo from Groot, the extraterrestrial tree monster from Guardians of the Galaxy. 

The campaign rolls out across TV, digital, out of home, PR, influencer and ecommerce. It also includes in-store experiences that tie in with the mission of the film.