Crayola Reunites Adults Across America with Their Childhood Artwork

Crayola is reuniting adults with their childhood artwork to launch the Campaign for Creativity – and it’s just as emotional and awe-inspiring as you might think. The brand’s latest work with Dentsu Creative and first work with Dentsu Creative PR, aims to ignite a new dialogue about the value of creativity and help parents integrate more creative moments into their children’s lives. 

Crayola is uniquely positioned to elevate the importance of childhood creativity, which has been shown to help develop core life skills, predict career achievement, boost education attainment and support well-being and fulfilment.

The artwork being returned is from an extensive collection Crayola has acquired from its art programs since the 1980s. Stored safely at its headquarters, many of the pieces have also hung in galleries, congressional offices, libraries, and museums across the country. Today, they’re on a journey back to their original creators.

Timed to launch ahead of the UN World Creativity and Innovation Day – and 40 years after Crayola began collecting children’s artwork – Crayola is debuting a captivating series of short films, titled Stay Creative. The films feature the stories of three adults across the country who participated in a Crayola art program as kids. As they are reunited with their childhood artwork, the adults reflect on how creativity impacted their lives, and the importance of nurturing creativity in their own children.

“These films capture just a few of the stories we’ve encountered that bring to life the enduring value of childhood creativity. They also illustrate the pivotal role parents have in helping their children develop lifelong creative mindsets essential for whatever path they take in life,” said Victoria Lozano, EVP Marketing at Crayola. “Through the Campaign for Creativity, Crayola not only hopes to encourage and help facilitate this dialogue, but also assist in providing the right creative resources and inspiration parents need to help all children reach their full potential.”

This is the first wave of art being returned in what Crayola hopes to be the ultimate return of all 1,000 pieces of art remaining in its archives from what was once one of the largest collections of children’s artworks in the world. They may even be enlisting the Internet for some help. Crayola will be releasing artwork images on its social channels in the hopes that the public can help reunite 50 additional pieces of artwork with their creators this year.

Crayola and Ad Council Research Institute Partner on Creativity Study

To aid in its effort, Crayola partnered with the Ad Council Research Institute to study parents’ perceptions about creativity. The research analysed knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours on creativity and how parents view its importance for their children.

According to the study, 9 in 10 parents say creativity is important for their child, and that encouraging children to use their imagination, explore different possibilities, and express themselves authentically is essential for their development and learning. However, the study also discovered that parents need help overcoming barriers to making creative moments part of their daily routines.

• More than 60% of parents don’t think their children get enough creative activity or aren’t sure if they do.
• 53% of parents believe they need to be creative themselves to raise creative kids, and an additional 21% are not sure.
• 33% struggle balancing creative moments with too many other things that compete for time throughout the day.
• 29% have difficulty coming up with new creative activities.

“We’re pleased to partner with Crayola to help study not only how parents perceive creativity but also to support their efforts to advance awareness of the long-lasting impact creative moments have on children and society,” said Derrick Feldmann, managing director, Ad Council Research Institute. “There is a great opportunity to educate and empower them to practice it with their children.”