Built Like a Crayon
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Description
Description
This is the kind of ad that knows exactly what it’s doing.
Crayola doesn’t try to sell the product here. It sells what the product represents: imagination, confidence, emotional agility, all the things that don’t get measured on a fitness test.
This ad plays on cognitive substitution, where the brain processes a familiar object used in an unfamiliar way. It’s a classic metaphor-in-action, but it lands because it triggers schema disruption. You expect softness, and you get strength.
There’s also a dose of identity projection here; adults see this and feel affirmed for valuing creativity, while parents see a case for raising kids who are more than just athletic. That layered relatability is what keeps the ad sticky in your head.
This kind of ad lives high on the campaign ladder. It’s not product-level; it’s brand purpose-level. It’s the messaging you run in brand awareness campaigns when you reinforce what your product stands for, not just what it does.
It’s a soft sell but high-retention ad. You won’t get impulse purchases, but you will build brand love. Ads like this do best on OOH (out-of-home) placements and social platforms, where visual cleverness drives shareability.
