Advertising firm Wieden + Kennedy and toymaker Fisher-Price are trying to reawaken the wonder that adults should have for children’s ability to play, to make ordinary things playthings, to make the everyday world a fantasy place. To make toys out of anything.
The new ad campaign is part of Fisher-Price’s Let’s be Kids platform, the brand’s invitation to grown-ups to see the world with openness, optimism and enthusiasm, which launched in November 2019.
Wieden+Kennedy describes its campaign, See Toys Everywhere, as a “playful reminder that toys really are all around us”.
Here is a delightful ad from the campaign that shows how kids see the world, one in which they can transform any object into a plaything.
It’s a wonderful ad, but it seems to raise a question.
If kids can transform any ordinary object into a toy, why would there be any need to buy toys from Fisher-Price…
Maybe Fisher Price plans to make fake hoses, bananas, brooms, and other ordinary objects, and sell them as toys.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I wouldn’t be surprised…
LikeLiked by 1 person
One ordinary thing that kids play with a lot is a good-sized box. It is an invitation to use the imagination.
LikeLiked by 2 people
our kids certainly had fun with such boxes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It does seem to be the antithesis of selling more toys, but I am all in for anything that reminds us of the power of imagination.
LikeLiked by 2 people
same here; hopefully Fisher Price and its advertising partner know what they are doing…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I absolutely love this! I think it is meant to support the idea of play in general, and the joy and wonder of childhood imaginations. a feel good spot about fisher price being a part of that and supporting childhood, a childhood which may include a fisher price toy. a feel good toward the brand and their understanding of children ad. just my take –
LikeLiked by 2 people
I thought you might like this one; it seemed right up your alley with your advertising and teaching background. And I think you’re right, it is a way to leave the viewer with a good feeling, and associate such a feeling with Fisher Price…
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a beautiful ad. Children can use all those real world opportunities, when available to them, alongside other manufactured toys to spark their imagination. A little of both is a good thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
if only we could keep that level of imagination as we grow older…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Don’t we?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Picasso said something to the effect that we forget how to be artists as we get older
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think we have it taught out of us, sadly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I fear that you are right…
LikeLiked by 1 person
😢
LikeLiked by 1 person
The question that raises for me is why they used an adult voice and digitised it to make it sound like a child. It’s weird, and a child’s fee would have been cheaper, too 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was not able to pick up on that… do you think that’s what they did? If so, that is so inauthentic…
LikeLiked by 1 person
It sounded odd to me, a little too electronic to be real. Maybe I’m wrong, but that just felt to me like what they had done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it does seem a bit off; I just can’t tell if it really is a kid’s voice or not…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nor I, but that was what first struck me. It just sounds unnatural to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great ad. I love it. However parents these days don’t want their kids playing with sticks and hoses or anything else that could be messy or become something other than what they think it should be so there’s a need for toy wands that look like wands and toy snakes that look like snakes and toy phones that look like phones. Parents require their kids to use their imagination with realistic looking props. A very sad state.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you enjoyed the ad. And if what you say is true, that is indeed a sad state of affairs. Kids need to let their imaginations run wild…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think Fisher-Price is worried about not selling toys. Kids, as I recall from personal experience, are quite susceptible to the power of advertising to create strong desire for things we don’t need.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it’s not only kids who are susceptible to the power of advertising 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this ad! But so true lol why are we buying your toys lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
it does seem a bit odd, but Beth offers a possible explanation…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good and effective. It may result in parents buying more FP toys in the hope that the kids will utilize the box as well. Two in one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
yes. sometimes the box is more fun than the contents…
LikeLike
That’s a great ad. One of the bummers of technological advancement is that phones don’t look like bananas anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
no reason why they can’t – maybe Apple, of all companies, could come up with a phone shaped like a banana…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lolz. I think that would be a hit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
they could start a whole new line of products named after fruits…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good question!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope Fisher Price knows the answer!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Fisher Price toys, they are such good quality. To answer your question, Jim, it is terrific fun to play in a sandpit with a hosepipe, but it is every more fun if you can build and populate a pirate island or a fort with soldiers. It adds anther dimension of learning experience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
maybe you can combine the sandpit with the fort and soldiers… 🙂
And we have always enjoyed Fisher Price toys as well…
LikeLiked by 1 person
You pose a good question. 🙂 Yes, a child’s imagination can transport them anywhere in the land of make believe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am sure FIsher Price and their ad firm know what they’re doing. well, pretty sure…
LikeLiked by 1 person
No doubts!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sure Fisher-Price know what they are doing but it’s what kids have been doing for centuries and still do here…if
LikeLiked by 1 person
yes, kids always find a way to amuse themselves…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t find anything I look for Lily and generally, she is playing with it or its part of her make-believe game 🙂 x
LikeLiked by 1 person
sounds like she has a wonderful imagination…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh she does.. Most Thai children do as not so many toys available or the money to buy them.. so they play with what they have or make it from bits and bobs.. But so much better as not at all materialistic.. which to me is good.. x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree it is good to be not materialistic…
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is, Jim…when my kids were growing up I have to say sometimes their Xmas list used to make me gulp and think jeez how can we do that…Kids here are so different ask them what they want and they will give you an answer which is generally one item…and my daughter in law is a stickler she just says to me you can’t eat that…food is a priority here not toys or gifts which are seen as frivolous… truly humbling…if the kids are bored they will be given some work to do on the farm…they don’t utter that word often …lol x
LikeLiked by 1 person
seems like they’ve got the right priorities in Thailand!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now this post is showing. If you use the phone app, go to Reader, then the Discover, and scroll down.
Maybe the selections are customized. I don’t know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks for letting me know; it may be customized, since I do not see those. maybe it does not show your own posts…
LikeLike
Ah, yes…that would make sense! Also, if I scroll far enough it presents me with categories which are clearly tailored to me.
You and The Sceptics Kaddish have each appeared, with different posts, for well over a month!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not familiar with the Sceptics Kaddish. What kind of blog is that?
LikeLike
Pretty much a general personal blog but it started from him doing a year long “kaddish”, a type of jewish mourning, on his own during covid lockdowns. I think he’s in Israel. He’s a good writer. I’m learning a lot about a culture I know little about.
LikeLiked by 1 person
that does sound like an effective way to learn about another culture…
LikeLike
I also watch lots of Japanese tv. I love new things.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree that learning new things is what keeps life interesting…
LikeLike