Creative Corner: Lego's life-size cars, more ball games please and fancy a chat with Salvador Dalí?
I can’t believe it is Friday already. With all these bank holidays, I can’t keep track of what day of the week it is.
There I was, about to sit down with a cold one to watch the Champions League, and the Creative Corner copy deadline crept up on me.
Anyway, with one eye on the score and one on my copy, here’s this week’s burst of activity, which features a couple of sporting campaigns from Lego and London Sport, plus a little dose of surrealism featuring the master of the craft, Salvador Dali.
Lego outshines the stars at the Miami F1
Last weekend, the F1 travelling circus stopped off in Miami in what always promises to be a star-studded feast of entertainment, where as many eyes are on the celebrities gracing the grid as there are on the drivers themselves. But this year one name shone brighter than any other when it came to stealing the headlines - LEGO.
In a partnership which promoted the LEGO Speed Champions range, the king of bricks unveiled near life-size versions of F1 cars, each made from nearly 400,000 bricks, weighing in at 1,500kg.
Created in collaboration with all 10 teams on the grid, each car was a replica of the F1 racing machines right down to the smallest details. Lined up for all to see (over a quarter of a million people attended the race weekend) the master stroke was the fact that these replicas not only looked good but could be driven too. Capable of hitting speeds up to 20 km/h the cars stole the show as the celebrated drivers took to the track to ‘race’ them during their pre-race drivers parade - and the world’s media lapped it up as much as the drivers lapped each other.
A year in planning, this piece of marketing genius injected some childlike playful fun (bang on brand) as the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen literally grinned from ear to ear as they dualed wheel to LEGO wheel. A roaring success with the drivers even asking for it to become a permanent part of future parade laps.
More Ball Games please
This creative campaign has been live for a little while now, but I think it is worthy of a write-up for the change it is aiming to make for young kids.
Having grown up around estates, ‘No Ball Games’ is a sign that I remember only too well from my childhood. As an ironic take on nostalgia, I even have the Banksy version hung up in my toilet. I digress, back to the story at hand, so to speak. "No Ball Games" signs are estimated to deter approximately 80 young people from playing and being active for each sign. London has an estimated 7,000 such signs, potentially discouraging over half a million young people.
In response, ‘More Ball Games’ is a campaign from London Sport, a charity that focuses on promoting physical activity, and Saatchi & Saatchi that aims to remove restrictive "No Ball Games" signs from London and encourage more physical activity and play for young people.
Launched by The London Lions basketball team, the first No Ball Games sign was transformed into a More Ball Games hoop with the ultimate goal to see these signs eliminated from council estates across the capital and potentially the country, paving the way for more active and healthy communities.
It’s a campaign that deserves to be shouted about and I hope catches the imagination of councils up and down the land. Young people need an outlet and be it a hoop on a wall or jumpers for goal posts, sport is a physical activity parents are only too happy to get behind.
Calling Dalí
I thought I’d finish this week’s Creative Corner with a little dose of surrealism. And who better to serve it up than the master of surrealism himself, Salvador Dalí.
The legendary artist may have passed away in 1989, but his legacy lives on at the Dalí Museum, which has brought him back to life to spill forth his wisdom with a little help from AI.
‘Dial Dalí’ celebrates the moustachioed one's birthday and offers people the chance to pick his brain on the meaning behind what is on their mind via a simple phone call. No app, no website, a real-time phone call where the only use of digital is the AI-inspired voice. AI-Dalí was trained on all his writings and speeches. Ask about art. Time. Dreams. Lobsters. His favourite foods. Or simply say happy birthday. He’ll talk to you in the way only Dalí can.
Dalí’s famous Lobster phone is a classic example of his boundless imagination: expect much the same with AI-Dalí’s surreal interpretations of your thoughts. You can give Dalí a call and find out for yourself on 772-ASK-DALÍ.
Well, that wraps up another Creative Corner!
As ever, if you’re launching something that deserves a spot in Creative Corner, or have seen a campaign you just love, please do share it with us. Email paul.lucas@fanclubpr.com
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