LEGO Halloween Campaign – "This guy’s job is terrifying!" | Clapboard Ad Archive

This guy’s job is terrifying!

Description

Launched in November 2024 in the United States, the Halloween-themed campaign "This guy’s job is terrifying!" by Publicis One for LEGO skillfully blends the playful and spooky to engage audiences within the toys industry. Centered on the festive tagline "Happy Halloween... or is it?", the campaign leverages a single compelling film asset to capture attention with a mix of humor and intrigue, positioning LEGO as not just a toy brand but a dynamic entertainment hub. Through the official LEGO channel, the campaign emphasizes accessibility to a rich library of movies, animations, and series from beloved LEGO themes including LEGO NINJAGO, LEGO Star Wars, The LEGO Batman Movie, LEGO Minecraft, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, LEGO DC Super Heroes, LEGO City, and LEGO Friends, among others. This diverse content offering is supported by exclusive episodes and innovative stop-motion videos designed to delight and inspire fans across age groups. The campaign further strengthens brand loyalty by promoting the LEGO Insiders Club, inviting audiences to deepen their engagement through insider access to how-to tutorials, building challenges, unlockable trophies, and behind-the-scenes designer footage unveiling new sets. By integrating hashtags such as #LEGO, #Halloween, and #BringUsBack, the campaign taps into social media dynamics to foster community participation and enhance visibility. Overall, this carefully orchestrated campaign not only celebrates Halloween with a playful twist but also strategically enhances LEGO’s content ecosystem, driving connection, excitement, and an ongoing dialogue with its global fan base through diverse digital storytelling and interactive experiences.

Credits

Client

Lego

Agency

Publicis One

Campaign Proposition

The campaign "This guy’s job is terrifying!" by Lego leverages a timely Halloween theme to engage its audience through a narrative that blends playful suspense with the brand’s core value of imaginative storytelling. By framing the storyline around a seemingly daunting or spooky scenario, the campaign taps into the cultural moment of Halloween while maintaining Lego’s promise to inspire creativity and fun through its building sets and storytelling mediums. The campaign’s underlying proposition is that Lego turns even frightening or challenging situations into opportunities for adventure and creativity, reinforcing the brand’s identity as a facilitator of imaginative play. From a market strategy perspective, the campaign targets both children and families who associate Halloween with excitement and playful spookiness. The use of a film format combined with Lego’s recognizable narrative genres—such as superheroes and fantasy—aims to deepen engagement by delivering a relatable yet entertaining storyline. The creative angle exploits the emotional resonance of Halloween’s eerie atmosphere, positioning Lego as a brand that transforms fear into fun. The inclusion of hashtags like #LEGO, #Halloween, and #BringUsBack invites community interaction and digital sharing, amplifying online reach. Moreover, featuring the campaign on Lego’s official YouTube channel, which serves as a hub for diverse themes and exclusive content, strengthens ongoing consumer relationships by offering additional value beyond the ad itself. This approach reflects a strategic effort to not only capitalize on seasonal interest but also to integrate storytelling with a broader content ecosystem geared towards sustained engagement and brand loyalty within the consumer durables and toys market.

Creative Device

FORMAT#12 PARODY OR BORROWED FORMAT — Uses or parodies pop culture formats like films, shows, or genres. This campaign most likely utilizes a parody or borrowed format, referencing the classic tropes of horror films or Halloween-themed scary story genres. The title—"This guy’s job is terrifying!"—and the tagline "Happy Halloween... or is it?" signal a playful mimicry of thriller/horror suspense, common in Halloween culture. Given Lego’s demonstrated history of borrowing and spoofing genres in its content (e.g., Ninjago, LEGO Batman, Star Wars), and their use of narrative and genre cues in their branded films, the campaign almost certainly adopts and parodies the traditional “scary story” or suspenseful film format to engage its audience, blending Lego play with a genre twist for festive, humorous effect. ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats