The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
Category
Film & Video
Annual ID
OS26_BS035M
Background
Play is in crisis.
What was once a universal act of creativity and joy has become a casualty of growing up, and The LEGO Brand is caught in the crossfire. The LEGO Group's own Play Well Research reveals the scale of the problem: 44% of kids feel pressured to grow up too fast, 48% have abandoned certain toys for feeling "babyish," and 24% have been told by their own families that play is uncool. In a culture obsessed with aging up, kids are trading imagination for image and creativity for conformity, stopping play with LEGO bricks earlier than ever before.
What was once a universal act of creativity and joy has become a casualty of growing up, and The LEGO Brand is caught in the crossfire. The LEGO Group's own Play Well Research reveals the scale of the problem: 44% of kids feel pressured to grow up too fast, 48% have abandoned certain toys for feeling "babyish," and 24% have been told by their own families that play is uncool. In a culture obsessed with aging up, kids are trading imagination for image and creativity for conformity, stopping play with LEGO bricks earlier than ever before.
Creative Idea
“Never Stop Playing” is a 2-minute short film from LEGO that celebrates the power of choosing play throughout your life. Starring global play icon, Tom Holland, the short film was crafted to feel more like a slice of entertainment than an ad and features Tom taking on many roles (9 to be exact) where he answers the immortal question, ‘to play or not to play?’. Spoiler alert, Tom’s characters choose to play again and again! Well, 8 out of 9 times at least. Crafted to feel like entertainment rather than advertising, the film delivers a simple but powerful truth: growing up should never mean giving up on play.
Insights & Strategy
The play crisis demanded a strategic reframe for the LEGO Brand. The brief was never about selling specific LEGO sets; it was about rebuilding the world's belief in play itself. As the world's largest toy brand, only The LEGO Group has both the permission and the responsibility to lead this movement globally, creating a film that could transcend borders, languages and local markets to resonate with a universal human truth.
The strategy shifted from campaign to cultural cause: a rallying cry for everyone who has ever been told to put down their bricks and grow up. Inspired by Shaw's timeless provocation that we don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing, The LEGO Group set out to make play timeless, defined not by age but by attitude.
The strategy shifted from campaign to cultural cause: a rallying cry for everyone who has ever been told to put down their bricks and grow up. Inspired by Shaw's timeless provocation that we don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing, The LEGO Group set out to make play timeless, defined not by age but by attitude.
Execution
This film was carefully crafted on every level, but casting was integral to its success. We needed exactly the right icon to deliver a serious message: growing up should never mean giving up on play. Tom Holland, one of the most recognisable faces on the planet, carried the weight of a blockbuster universe yet retained a genuine, unguarded playfulness that made him the only person for the job. His all-ages appeal and unique persona, on and off camera, made “Never Stop Playing” believable to audiences across every market.
The film was directed by an award-winning creative duo known for their bold visual style and cinematic world-building. They crafted each scene as part of a broad creative universe (that several critics and fans compared to Marvel), with the iconic brick click serving as the catalyst taking viewers everywhere imagination wants to go.
Our production partners pushed the VFX envelope, blending real LEGO builds with digital artistry. Stunning physical props included custom rocket-powered shoes, a full-sized LEGO Botanicals suit, a vibrant garden, a hummingbird transforming into a Phoenix, and super-sized brick-built elements. This seamless marriage of practical craftsmanship and digital magic created a visual language both grounded and fantastical.
Holland portrayed multiple characters across the 21-week production, each requiring extensive prosthetics, costume design, and meticulous attention to detail, from a legendary footballer to an entrepreneur to an uptight boss who’s forgotten how to play.
750Mph’s driving sound design, paired with AC/DC’s “High Voltage,” created an anthemic rallying cry resonating across generations.
The film was directed by an award-winning creative duo known for their bold visual style and cinematic world-building. They crafted each scene as part of a broad creative universe (that several critics and fans compared to Marvel), with the iconic brick click serving as the catalyst taking viewers everywhere imagination wants to go.
Our production partners pushed the VFX envelope, blending real LEGO builds with digital artistry. Stunning physical props included custom rocket-powered shoes, a full-sized LEGO Botanicals suit, a vibrant garden, a hummingbird transforming into a Phoenix, and super-sized brick-built elements. This seamless marriage of practical craftsmanship and digital magic created a visual language both grounded and fantastical.
Holland portrayed multiple characters across the 21-week production, each requiring extensive prosthetics, costume design, and meticulous attention to detail, from a legendary footballer to an entrepreneur to an uptight boss who’s forgotten how to play.
750Mph’s driving sound design, paired with AC/DC’s “High Voltage,” created an anthemic rallying cry resonating across generations.
Results
The full brand effects, audience growth, play adoption figures and paid performance (and ROI) results are still to come, but early indications show that the campaign has cut through, struck a chord and ignited a global conversation around the message.
Cultural Impact:
The message spread organically, fueling a wave of conversation, coverage and community engagement.
- 898 pieces of earned press coverage
- 104M earned PR article views
- 5.5B PR reach
The conversation extended beyond traditional media and PR, with creators and communities driving exposure of the message.
- 23.2K mentions (vs. 537 in 24’)
- 296M earned social reach (vs. 8M in 24’)
- 825K earned engagements
On Reddit alone the campaign reached 68M users, with only 3M originating from LEGO specific Subreddits, highlighting that the message transcended brand affinity and hit mainstream, it even sparked a global debate about Tom’s hair!
Performance Impact
- 6.5m views of the hero film on IG placed it in the top 10 posts of 25’ in a single week
- 568% increase in YouTube views comparative to the campaign in 24’
- 43% uplift in dotcom visits vs. previous 24’ Fall campaign
Cultural Impact:
The message spread organically, fueling a wave of conversation, coverage and community engagement.
- 898 pieces of earned press coverage
- 104M earned PR article views
- 5.5B PR reach
The conversation extended beyond traditional media and PR, with creators and communities driving exposure of the message.
- 23.2K mentions (vs. 537 in 24’)
- 296M earned social reach (vs. 8M in 24’)
- 825K earned engagements
On Reddit alone the campaign reached 68M users, with only 3M originating from LEGO specific Subreddits, highlighting that the message transcended brand affinity and hit mainstream, it even sparked a global debate about Tom’s hair!
Performance Impact
- 6.5m views of the hero film on IG placed it in the top 10 posts of 25’ in a single week
- 568% increase in YouTube views comparative to the campaign in 24’
- 43% uplift in dotcom visits vs. previous 24’ Fall campaign
2026 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Chaos x Magic / Amsterdam
Brand-Side / In-House Agency
Our LEGO Agency / Billund
Production Company
Biscuit Filmworks / London
Music Company
Banjo Soundscapes / Valencia
Creative Director
Nils-Petter Lövgren
Zack McDonald
Designer
Henrik Walse
Director
Los Perez
Director of Photography
Benjamin Todd
Editor
Herman Forsman
Producer
Javier Alejandro
Melanie Nogueira
Executive Producer
Alvaro Priante
Daniel Monedero
Katie Keith
Global Creative Director
Genevieve Hoey
Music Composer
Ivan Llopis
Senior Film Producer
Elaine Lee
Associate Creative Director / Design Lead
Anas Sarraj
Brand Designer
Megan Blair
Business Operations
Yen Ho
Creative
Justin Joshua
Nino Gupana
Creative/Designer
Christina de la Cruz
Director Masterbrand Strategy
Rebecca Price
Founding Partner
Shawn Lacy
Global Head of Production
Paulina Embart
Hair and Makeup
Javier Garcia
Head of Production
Emily Atterton
Line Producer
Agata Bert
Managing Director
Rupert Reynolds-MacLean
Production Coordinator
Chanel Parkinson
Production Designer
Antoni Castells
Production Manager
Jack Filtness
Prosthetics
David Marti
Montse Ribes
Senior Business Director
Dan Worrell
Senior Business Partner
Signe Krogh
Senior Global Brand Director
Harry Burns
Kristofer Crockett
Tracie Chiarella
Senior Global Brand Manager
Sam New
Senior Manager, Communications Strategy
Lee Ramsay
Service Company
GraySkull / Barcelona
Stunt Co-Ord
Guiomar Alonso
Stylist
Nuria Dura
SVP, Global Brand Development
Remi Marcelli
SVP, Head of Our LEGO Agency
Nic Taylor
VP, Head of Global Creative
Carlo Cavallone
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