Theme park Legoland has teamed up with the Lego Group to create a new Lego Festival in the run up to UNESCO’s International World Day of Play on 11 June.

Set to be amplified by a campaign crafted by Manchester-based creative agency TBWA/MCR, the festival will run at seven of the global Legoland parks across the UK, the US, Denmark, Germany and South Korea.

Commissioned by Legoland operator Merlin Entertainments, the work will be focused on the importance of playing and is based on Lego Group insight that children are experiencing a play deficit, with one in five families never playing together.

“Sometimes we all need to be reminded of the importance of taking some time out, having fun and playing together as a family. Unlike other theme parks where the characters are the heroes, Legoland makes kids the heroes,” said Emily Stadelman, Legoland’s global brand director.

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“It’s a place where children’s imaginations are realised on an epic scale, turning all of the possibilities of Lego bricks into a real-life spectacle of play and creativity. Our Legoland Festival is the perfect way to bring people together and TBWA\MCR have captured that essence brilliantly with this campaign.”

The campaign will be centred around an 80-second spot, ‘The Girl Who Controlled Playtime’ and will run across TV, video-on-demand and online video, supported by social media and out-of-home executions.

TBWA/MCR ECD, Gary Fawcett said: “Merlin Entertainments disrupts the theme park category making them the perfect partner for TBWA\MCR and our disruption approach.”

“Our campaign plays on the concept that it’s not just play that’s missing, it’s playing together that’s missing. We hope this campaign emotionally connects with families by holding up a mirror to their reality,” he added.