The searing pain as those tiny– impossibly angular–little blocks dig into your bare feet, the mess and chaos it creates, the fear and panic as your youngest sticks a piece of it up his nose.
But Lego is on mission to make you forget all the bad, and embrace the toy in a whole new way that has nothing to do with your kids.
A new advertising campaign appeals to young, stressed-out women with the message that Lego can bring mindfulness to their lives.
Pushed onto the Instagram feeds of millennials, the ad portrays a woman trying to find inner peace by doing yoga, but finding the exercise too difficult.
Instead, she sets about creating a Lego ship, and finding a moment of calm in a busy, high-pressure day.
The video is captioned: “Need an escape? Building with Lego bricks reduces stress and improves your wellbeing. It’s zen, in the shape of a brick.”
Just got served a Lego ad on Instagram about doing Lego instead of yoga to de-stress, they know me so well
— Vicki Turk (@VickiTurk) October 26, 2018
The company has found that more and more adults are choosing to go “back to basics” and take part in dexterous, “real world” activities says Tom Donaldson, vice president of Lego’s Creative Play Lab.
“There is a movement back to what may be more hands-on and physical,” he told Wired. “The boundaries between physical and digital play are blurring, and that is the future of play.”
Research conducted by Lego showed that 91 percent of adults felt that playing improved their well-being, and 86 percent reported feeling more relaxed.
“We have a strong adult fan base who share the passion for the Lego brick and the endless possibilities it brings to creative expression,” Lego said in a statement.
“The experience has been designed as a creative project for adults allowing for a few hours of off-screen me-time. After the project is done, it can be used as a display item for your work desk or at home, or you can take it apart and rebuild. The model serves as a fun conversation starter with colleagues and house guests.”