Crayola: Returning Creativity
Crayola faced a challenge where parents viewed creativity as a childhood phase rather than a vital life skill. Dentsu Creative New York was tasked with reigniting a national conversation about the importance of creative play. The goal was to shift brand perception from a simple art-supply manufacturer to a purpose-driven advocate for child development, targeting parents who struggled to prioritize creativity in their busy lives.
Creative Idea
Returned original 1980s childhood drawings to their adult creators to reignite their creative confidence.
Crayola tracked down the adult creators of thousands of archived childhood drawings from the 1980s to return their original masterpieces, proving that creativity is a lifelong mindset and empowering a new generation of parents to prioritize creative play.
Returning a Thousand Time Capsules to Their Owners
The 6.2 Billion Impression Search
What began as a brand advocacy mission exploded into a cultural phenomenon, generating 6.2 billion earned impressions - six times the original goal. The campaign secured nearly 3,000 media placements on platforms like *TODAY* and *NBC News*, while the #StayCreative hashtag engaged over 750,000 participants. Beyond the viral metrics, the initiative drove an 11% sales lift and a 1.6% growth in market share, proving that purpose - driven storytelling can move the needle on retail performance.
Sleuthing for 1980s Artists
To find the original creators, Crayola and Dentsu Creative opened a "time capsule" of over 1,000 pieces of artwork archived since the 1980s. These drawings had spent decades in museums and congressional offices. The production team used "internet sleuthing" and digital billboards in Times Square to broadcast first names and hometowns, hoping to trigger a lead. In a high - stakes production move, directors Aqsa & John X of Hummingbird Content Studio kept the adult participants in the dark, only revealing their original childhood art once the cameras were rolling to capture raw, unscripted emotional reactions.
Bridging the Creativity Gap
The strategy addressed a stark "creativity gap" identified by the Ad Council Research Institute: while 90% of parents value creativity, 56% of adults no longer feel creative themselves. High - profile advocates like John Krasinski, Quinta Brunson, and Andy Grammer joined the cause to reinforce that creativity is a life skill, not a phase. As EVP Victoria Lozano noted, the goal was to shift Crayola’s identity from a mere "enabler of self - expression" to a lifelong advocate for creative confidence.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A massive, 40-year-old archive of original children's artwork that had been preserved as a time capsule of creativity.
Category
Focus on functional product benefits or short-term craft projects rather than the long-term developmental value of a creative mindset.
Customer
Parents who value creativity for their children but feel they have lost their own creative spark due to adult pressures.
Culture
A cultural creativity gap where adults stop seeing themselves as creative, despite it being a critical life skill for the future.
Company
A massive, 40-year-old archive of original children's artwork that had been preserved as a time capsule of creativity.
Category
Focus on functional product benefits or short-term craft projects rather than the long-term developmental value of a creative mindset.
Strategy:
Reconnect adults with their forgotten creative potential to validate the brand's role as a lifelong developmental partner.
Customer
Parents who value creativity for their children but feel they have lost their own creative spark due to adult pressures.
Culture
A cultural creativity gap where adults stop seeing themselves as creative, despite it being a critical life skill for the future.
Strategy:
Reconnect adults with their forgotten creative potential to validate the brand's role as a lifelong developmental partner.
Results
The campaign achieved significant reach and engagement, generating over 6.1 Billion impressions. It secured 2,973 earned media placements across various platforms, including national news coverage on CBS and NBC. The initiative successfully reunited numerous adults with their childhood artwork, sparking a nationwide conversation about the importance of nurturing creativity in both children and adults.
6.1B
Total Impressions
2,973
Earned Media Placements
Strategy Technique
Lean Into Nostalgia
The campaign used personal history to overcome the "creativity gap" in adults. By physically returning a piece of their past, Crayola transformed an abstract brand value into a tangible, emotional experience.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Connect Generations
By returning decades-old artwork to adults, Crayola bridged the gap between childhood wonder and adult responsibility. This emotional reunion inspired parents to nurture the same creative spark in their own children today.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign excels through its masterful use of media planning and copywriting to create a nationwide scavenger hunt that feels both personal and epic. The emotional resonance is driven by the authentic reactions of the participants, elevated by a clear, purpose-driven narrative.
The strategic use of hyper-local billboards and news segments to find specific individuals turned a brand message into a national event.
The simple, direct calls to action on billboards and social media effectively mobilized the public to join the search.
