What it is is beautiful.

Lego’s 1981 campaign defies expectation and creates a universal ad that deeply understands its audience.

This ad is a great example of how to break down gender roles in a subtle yet effective way.

What proud parent hasn’t been presented with a pile of Lego bricks that look like some abstract work of art fit for the New York Museum of Modern Art? And what parent hasn’t snapped a photo of their little one proudly holding that amalgam of shapes and colors?

This ad captures the magic of that special moment

The copy takes it one step further.

Have you ever seen anything like it? Not just what she’s made, but how proud it’s made her? It’s a look you’ll see whenever a child is building something all by themselves. No matter what they’ve created.

Then it lists the facts.

Younger children build for fun, while older kids build for realism. Oh yeah, and Lego will unlock whatever’s special about your kid. What parent doesn’t want that?

Rules are meant to be broken

Sentence fragments, contractions, everything you’re not supposed to do. It’s all here. And that’s precisely why the copy in this ad works.

The writing feels like a conversation. Your eyes fall like water down the page. The words are familiar.

And then that headline. “What it is is beautiful.” All the experts will say to never use two words twice in a row.

But this headline stops you in your tracks. It makes you look at the picture closer.

What’s beautiful? It’s all beautiful.

– Mike Doane