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Toys "R" Us: Mr. Ferguson


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Once a childhood staple, imaginary friends have been dying out at an alarming rate in recent years, a casualty of the screen time that has increasingly become synonymous with playtime. In a 2019 survey of daycare staff in the U.K., 72% of respondents said that fewer children have imaginary friends than they did five years ago, while 63% indicated that they thought screens are making children less imaginative. The study shows that the main reason fewer children have imaginary friends is because they have less time for themselves, when they can fuel creativity and create a rich inner world where imaginary friends can thrive. These are dark times for imaginary friends, but Toys’R’Us Canada is quite literally reviving them with a charming campaign from Broken Heart Love Affair that represents the agency’s first work for the retailer since quietly winning the business earlier this year. The “Imagination Included” campaign is anchored by a video spot called “Mr. Ferguson,” which shows how the retailer—and its well-curated assortment of products—can help bring back the imagination once so central to children’s play. The spot opens on a mom encountering her son sitting bored on the couch. When she asks why he isn’t playing with Mr. Ferguson, he responds “who?” The spot then cuts to a shot of the boy’s furry friend prone on the floor, eyes closed and comically oversized tongue lolling out of his mouth.
Credits Other credits

Client

Director, Marketing: Allyson Banks

Creative Director: Salvatore Stranges

Agency

Strategy: Kristy Pleckaitis, Jay Chaney

Account Team: Cass Farry, Maegan Thomas

Junior Producer: Olivia Cousineau

Line Producer: Rory Halsall

Production Designer: Jeremy Macfarlane

Wardrobe Stylist: Melissa Shouldice

Casting: Mann Casting

Casting Director: Steven Mann

Editorial: Saints Editorial

Executive Producers: Michelle Rich, Mackenzie Goodwin

Editor: Griff Henderson

Assistant Editor: Sam Rousseau

VFX: The Vanity

Executive Producer: Stephanie Pennington

VFX Artist: Kaelem Cahill

Producer: Katie Oliver

Colour: The Vanity

Colourist: Andrew Exworth

Audio House: Berkeley

Creative Director: Jared Kuemper

Mix & Sound Design: Jared Kuemper

Media Agency: Prospect Media Group

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