Play-Doh is a magical modelling clay built entirely on the logic of the imagination: in its world, anything is possible. The question was how to communicate that in advertising without constraining it, without reducing the infinite to a single execution.
We built a visual universe where the answer to any question is yes. In the world of Play-Doh, you don’t see dozens of species disappearing daily. Rather, it’s the other way around. In the world of Play-Doh, if there is one thing that has never been a problem, it is definitely the mix of colours. In the world of Play-Doh, when asked “Is it possible to survive a head transplant?”, the answer is yes. Each visual is a fully rendered 3D world made entirely from Play-Doh material, the text handwritten in Play-Doh lettering, the characters built from the same clay. Everything is possible. Everything is moldable. The world you imagine is the one that exists.
From October 2017, the platform extended into “The Gallery of Emerging Species”: a virtual natural history museum launched on lagaleriedesespeces.fr. In a world where one animal species disappears every 20 minutes, the concept of emerging species turned that statistic inside out. Dozens of imaginary animals, all hand-made in modelling clay then animated, were showcased in the museum with the rigour of a wildlife documentary – each creature presented in its sound environment.
Parents and children were invited to create and submit their own species. All hand-made. The most digital project of the year, built from the most analogue material.
Thousands of species submitted by families. Gallery ran six months. Reference case for creative play in digital education.
