The Brief
Carousel was tasked by Paddington and Rainbow Designs with devising a creative content production route for two toys in the The Adventures of Paddington range in the lead up to Christmas.
Objectives:
Develop a creative, scalable content production approach to bring two toys from The Adventures of Paddington range to life
Showcase the unique play features and storytelling potential of Paddington Bear’s Bessie Camper Van and Paddington Bear’s Letter to Aunt Lucy Playset in a way that feels authentic, imaginative, and play-first.
Drive awareness and consideration for both toys by demonstrating how they fit naturally into children’s playtime.
Position the two toys as must-have Christmas gifts for fans of Paddington by highlighting their role-play appeal during the key pre-Christmas period.
Create video-first content optimised for influencer and social platforms, designed to maximise views, engagement, and shareability
The Response
Working alongside the Paddington brand team and toy licensee Rainbow Designs, we turned to family creators who excel at crafting warm, emotive content rooted in real moments at home. Selected for their creative strength rather than follower numbers, four micro family influencers became the storytellers of the campaign, each producing two bespoke role-play videos designed to feel natural, imaginative and play-first.
Creators were equipped with clear creative direction, key campaign messages and carefully chosen props, giving them the freedom to interpret play in their own authentic way. Content was released gradually across the run-up to Christmas, allowing Paddington’s toys to become familiar, desirable and gift-ready at the moment parents were making purchasing decisions.
Retailers were woven into captions and shoppable ad formats, ensuring discovery could quickly turn into action. Rainbow Designs and Paddington Bear were featured throughout as collaborative partners to further boost visibility and to extend the life of the creative beyond the campaign, all content was secured with full usage rights in perpetuity.
This was amplified through a targeted paid social strategy, adding momentum to the content by driving video views and directing audiences through to key retail partners. Custom audiences were built around family demographics, purchasing behaviour, lookalike modelling, and users who had previously engaged with the brands’ channels, ensuring efficient reach and relevance.
Performance was strongest where children’s voices led the storytelling, with playful voiceover content that leaned into Paddington’s mischievous charm driving the highest volume of views, engagement and link clicks - bringing warmth, authenticity and standout impact to our audience’s social feeds.
The Results
The campaign delivered eight pieces of role-play-led video content, designed to spark imagination and family connection, generating 991K video views and 1.8K engagements. Each video tapped into playful, everyday moments, covering everything from writing Christmas letters to pretend road trips in the living room and imaginary camping adventures, encouraging children and families to create their own worlds at home. The content wove together different elements of the The Adventures of Paddington universe, connecting the TV series, toys, clothing, and of course a jar of marmalade or two, while reinforcing Paddington and Rainbow Designs’ storytelling credentials through warm, creative and shareable role-play scenarios.
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