Chapter two: The Power of Play
The Power of Play
Play matters, regardless of your age – that’s what 94% of global consumers believe. Rather than just ‘something kids do’, there’s growing recognition of its role in our lifelong wellbeing and social connectedness.
The science bit: play is a biologically hardwired behavior in mammals, triggering the brain’s reward centers to release mood-boosting chemicals such as dopamine and oxytocin. Sounds like a great way to build brand love, doesn’t it?
We’re seeing more people turning to the escapist power of play as a respite from today’s doomscrolling, productivity culture, and socio-economic instability – whether it’s through plush toys, tabletop games, light-hearted hobbies, or online gaming communities. There’s a big opportunity for brands that help consumers rekindle the freewheeling fun and creativity of childhood.
“The ‘kidult’ isn’t a trend, they’re a core part of the fandom economy now.”
Play Pavilion at London’s Serpentine Gallery invites visitors of all ages to engage with the creative possibilities of play
Kidult Culture Rising
Perhaps you’ve seen them queuing for the latest cuddly toy, cosplaying as cartoon characters, or packing out soft-play centers – say hello to the “kidults”, a cohort of fully-grown adults consciously indulging their youthful sides. While this name was coined by 1950s TV executives, millennials have taken the concept mainstream, lapping up nostalgic reboots, kiddie hobbies, and playful leisure concepts (think: escape rooms, board game cafes). Now, Gen Z is coming of age with an even greater passion for childish pursuits and franchises.
Cue a major transformation in toy industry marketing, and an upswell of kidult-centric collaborations. McDonald’s is one brand mastering the trend, with its recent Minecraft and FRIENDS Happy Meals appealing to these franchises’ grownup fandoms.
Read on for how brands are targeting kidult consumers…
Transmedia Toy Worlds
Leading toymakers are recasting themselves as cross-category, multi-generational lifestyle brands, encompassing limited-edition luxury merch, live-action films, and co-created content. Partnerships with fashion and beauty, homewares, food and drink, and media abound. It’s a shrewd strategy for extending playful IP into new demographics and markets, often at a higher price-point, especially when using limited editions and artist collaborations to position kidult merch as premium collectibles.
[source: The Guardian]
[source: Wildbrain]
[source: License Global]
Tapping the trend
- Extending the Fanfare: Family movie releases are swiftly becoming major shopping and hospitality events, expanding the opportunities for grownup fans (with deeper pockets) to participate in these fantasy worlds. Take the 2024 release of Wicked, which sparked everything from a Bloomingdales pop-up and H&M capsule clothing collection to Starbucks’ limited-time menu and drinkware line inspired by the Emerald City characters.
- Entertainment Heirlooms: Hollywood’s betting on the cross-generational appeal of licensed classic toy adaptations to drive box-office revenue in the years ahead. Live-action movies based on UNO, Polly Pocket, Barney, and Monopoly are all currently in development, following 2024’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Streaming services are ramping up kidult content, too, with The Addams Family spin-off series Wednesday proving one of Netflix’s most-watched shows.
- Prestige Play: From music to fine art, canny collaborations have helped elevate LEGO from toymaker to creative juggernaut for the omnichannel age. Take Pharrell Williams’ 2024 biopic Piece by Piece, which was told using LEGO animation, or the soothing music playlist co-created with British multi-instrumentalist Tom Misch. Then there’s the recent collaboration Formula 1, which saw top racing drivers get behind the wheels of 20 life-size LEGO cars. A new collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, includes a co-branded podcast and a LEGO version of Sunflowers going on permanent display in the Amsterdam gallery. These licensing deals (along with its sleekly packaged build kits specifically for adults) help make the Danish toymaker synonymous with playful creativity in all its guises.
“It’s about building multigenerational connections. Parents who grew up with iconic franchises like Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles now share these beloved characters with their children, creating a sense of continuity across generations.”
Dopamine Destinations
Playgrounds are no longer the preserve of little kids; leisure venues are encouraging Gen Zs and Millennials to unleash their sillier sides. The boom in competitive socializing concepts continues apace – think: axe-throwing, crazy golf, or escape rooms – while soft-play centers exclusively for adults are adding live music and street food alongside the ball pools and bouncy-castles.
@BallieBallerson
@Dopamineland.experience
Tapping the trend
- Screen-Free Fun Houses: With venues in Nashville and Las Vegas, PLAY Playground is on a “mission is to bring people together through magical, immersive and gamified theatrical hospitality”. Proudly analogue (that is, no VR, AR, or arcade games), its high-energy environments house a mix of large-scale, hands-on physical games, memory challenges, dance mats, and puzzles, with participants sharing their scores on a leaderboard. Adding Alice in Wonderland-esque whimsy, there are rabbit holes and secret passageways. Open to ages 13+ by day and over 21s only in the evenings.
- Playing for Public Health: As part of the Australian government’s Places to Play Program for countering sedentary, solitary city living, an adults’ playground named Junction Street Plaza opened beneath a Sydney motorway in spring 2025. The AUD$1.4m project features table tennis, a parkour course, basketball hoops, and street skating ramps, against a backdrop of vibrant murals.
- Escapist Exhibitions: Tapping into the tactile delight of childhood toys and parties (much as Jeff Koons’ iconic Celebration series did), Balloon Museum’s worldwide inflatable exhibitions feature colossal ball pits, beach balls, and bubble machines. “The idea is that the balloon brings everybody to the child’s age,” says lead curator Antonella Di Lullo. Similarly, Dopamine Land in New Jersey invites attendees to take part of a friendly pillow fight in the ‘Cushion Clash’ room, and write messages to their younger self on the walls of a “Scribblescape”.
- Recreation Meets Retail: Canny brands are tapping into this movement by launching their own playable destinations. Ever a trailblazer in engaging pop-ups, Selfridges’ Sportopia takeover delivered “fun and games on every floor” of its UK department stores in summer 2024. A retro-style sports bar, an Olympic swimming pool experience, a 40ft climbing wall, chess boards, table football and arcade games were among the action highlights encouraging shoppers to “socialize and play.” This year, it continued the playful magic with the music-themed Summer of Sound concept featuring karaoke and listening parties.
“Competitive socializing is one of the most dynamic segments of hospitality at the moment, and it’s moved from the fringes to become part of the mainstream of eating and drinking out.”
Comforting Collectomania
Whether it’s a plush toy-charm dangling from their designer handbag or unboxing their latest doll on TikTok, grownups are proudly showcasing childish purchases. Experts say the behavior is about more than cute aesthetics; these tactile toys are a salve to the anxieties of modern life. It’s part of a broader cultural shift where play is embraced as a legitimate form of adult self-care and expression. The toy industry’s taking note by ramping up products specifically created for adult collectors – many marketed as mindfulness or wellbeing aids – and 2024 saw the launch of a prize dedicated to such designs, the Kidult Awards.
@thelistedpals
Tapping the trend
- Cuddly Arm Candy: Rihanna, David Beckham and Dua Lipa are among the high-profile fans of Labubu, a toothy, bunny-eared character created by artist Kasing Lung. Often worn as a bag charm, this tiny plush-toy’s appeal lies in a combination of its busu-kawaii (‘ugly-cute’) aesthetic, and canny marketing from Chinese retailer Pop Mart, including secret edition releases, and blind box packaging well suited to social media ‘unboxing’ content. The result? More than 1.4 million TikTok posts bearing the #Labubu hashtag, some styles flipping for 10 times their RRP on the resales market, and brands clamouring to collaborate – see Coco Cola’s mini bottle accessories, and Uniqlo’s official merch line. June 2025 saw the first official Labubu auction in Beijing, where one four-foot collectible sold for $170K in a bidding war.
- Toy Stores 2.0: The fun, foodie concessions created by British soft toy company Jellycat demonstrate how the collectibles craze can be amplified by experiential in-store activations. At its permanent Jellycat Diner in FAO Schwartz, New York, the playful, sensory-rich scene is set by staff in diner uniforms simulating cooking sounds and actions. The culinary cuteness continued across the pond with a pop-up ‘fish and chip’ shop in Selfridges’ UK department stores, and a Parisian Patisserie.
“Stuffed toys offer a sense of security and familiarity by tapping into childhood feelings.”
Creator Mode
The strongest story worlds are lived, not just watched. Brands can deepen that all-important sense of community by handing their fandoms some creative control – empowering them to become active participants in world building, rather than passive audiences. They’ll welcome the chance to showcase their imaginative powers and insider status through co-created merchandise, live-action immersive experiences, or customer-led decision making (like LEGO’s ideas platform).
@InsideFandom
@InsideFandom
Tapping the trend
- Consoles Come to Life: Following the success of its Crystal Maze and Tomb Raider immersive experiences, Little Lion Entertainment’s next live video game concept will be a Pac-Man themed site in Manchester, UK. Chief executive Tom Lionetti-Maguire says the formula has longevity since the physical spaces act like games consoles with updatable software: “You can have infinite content and there is infinite repeatability [so that] we can target different audiences.”
- Mini-Me AI Action Figures: Social media was recently awash with consumers using tools like ChatGPT to generate images of themselves as miniature figurines, right down to packaging and matching accessories. Brands are seizing the “AI action figure” trend, in turn – check out Royal Mail’s miniature postman, Lidl’s shopper archetypes and Aldi’s mascot.
“Today, more than ever, people crave opportunities to play and participate in story worlds. The continued rise of immersive gaming universes like Fortnite and Minecraft clearly shows the global consumer appetite to transform narratives into shared experiences, shaped by their own choices and imagination, both virtually and IRL.”
Mature your merch in line with audiences.
Reimagine childhood favorites as grown-up collectibles, not commodities, by looking to the aspirational appeal of limited-edition drops, collaborations with respected creatives, or pop culture-infused F&B offerings.
Give fans creative control.
Letting fans shape your brand universe – via immersive live events, creator platforms, or product customization – will deepen emotional loyalty.
Show that play is purposeful.
Far from being frivolous, play has myriad wellbeing benefits – frame it as an opportunity for screen-free escapism, social connection and self-care for stressed-out adults.
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