An Icon Turns 50

For 49 years, Hot Wheels was just a throwaway dollar toy. And moms — the ones who usually buy them — didn’t have an emotional connection to the brand like they did with Barbie. But moms have a lot more in common with Hot Wheels than they think. The life lessons mothers want to teach their sons can all be learned from Hot Wheels. So, we showed mom how to use playtime as a platform.

To extend the campaign online, we launched targeted ads on Mother’s Day that we knew would stand out. That included cutdowns that detailed the “learning through play” model, social assets, and even introducing the brand’s first-ever interactive swag: the “Back Track.”