It has a weird sense of nostalgia that creeps up when you reflect on the games we would play not the ones played on our phones or on our consoles, but the games that we played on our block, in our empty streets, and on our afternoons when we were kids. The actual games, you see, hide and seek till the Streetlights appeared, soccer on wet fields, or marbles upon pavements.
We are currently existing in a world of advertisements, glittery, noisy, and aggressive. But pretend we have read this article as a commercial of something to which we lost. Not a product, but a feeling. Not a download, but a memory. According to the campaign, it would be a way to revive what we felt alive on, the feeling of connection, laughter, and the excitement of just playing.
The Game We Lost
Have you played at all recently? Not contested, not acted, not sought out likes but simply played?
As kids, play came naturally. We did not need any reasons or rules but imagination. A stick turned into a sword, a backyard turned into a kingdom, and time was not an issue. Between childhood, pursuit of grades, employment, and so-called adult life, that magic had disappeared.
Things which were interesting had become habitual. In place of hide-and-seek, we rolled through feeds. Instead of exchanging jokes in open fields we replaced them with the sound of a notification.
Our lost game was not about fun only it was about freedom.
Had life been an advertising thing, it would have sold us the notion that being grown up will be to discard the things that made us feel young. We had fallen into that without even thinking about it.
Considering, we are surrounded with advertisements that advertise escape: video games, vacations, entertainment. None of them really give the happiness that naturally came with being a child. It did not require screens and subscriptions to be happy. It only had to have us there.
This doesn't qualify as a metaphor, this game we lost. It's real. It is the art of living and not making life content. It is running because the wind is good or laughing so hard you do not know why.
And were there an advertisement on the same? It would not require flashy graphics and celebrity endorsements. It would just say:
"Remember when life was play? You can have that back. Step outside."
A Personal Reminder
I recall once, when I was ten, it was summer afternoons. A cricket game was arranged in the whole neighborhood. Nobody had uniforms like, nobody counted points other than boasting like a buffoon, and the ball was half-taped and lob-sided.
But that day felt perfect.
Nobody was looking into the future. Nobody was concerned with victory or defeat. And we were there all right--playing, sweating and shouting and laughing.
Now jump to the present time, now I can play periodically, though usually with screens. The digitized scoreboards, the online wins, and the typified laughter are typed with emojis. Something seems to be lacking, and you are aware of it.
That's the game we lost.
There are some reasons as to why adults have forgotten how to play.
Productivity and purpose are confused.
There are instances in the process where we began to believe that only things that have quantifiable outcomes are important. Play does not accomplish anything, and hence we cease doing it.
We fear looking silly.
Adults do not want to be regarded as childish, however that fear robs them of pleasure. Whenever children laugh or dance, they do not care about how they appear. Maybe we shouldn't either.
Our attention was stolen by technology.
Scrutinizing the truth would be a lie, our phones are like magnets to our brains. They keep us busy but not very satisfied. Actual gaming occurs off-screen.
We forgot to rest.
Play is not laziness. It is a type of rest that reinvigorates your creativity, heart and your sense of wonder. Without it, life feels heavy.
The Science of Play (And Why it Matters)
This is even in science, play is not only kids. It has been found out that playful activities enhance creativity, stress lessening, and relationship improvement.
Your brain releases dopamine or the feel-good chemical when you laugh which is helpful to focus and to be happy. Physical activity such as sporting or dancing elevates serotonin and decreases anxiety.
In essence, play is a free prescription of medicine.
It turns out, another app or a planner is not probably the best productivity hack. Perhaps that is nothing but going out to play.
A Call to Play Again
In case it were an actual advertisement, it would look like this:
- Name of the campaign: Bring Back the Game.
- Slogan: The world has not become less fun. We just stopped playing."
- Tagline: "Reclaim the joy. Replay life."
Since, frankly speaking, what would become of us all should we play a little more?
What would happen when parents play water balloon fight with their children? What would happen when friends would have a soccer match on the weekend rather than meet on coffee? What would happen when office time had five minutes of laughter breaks as opposed to stress breaks?
We could make life lighter. Happier. More human.
Let's Go Viral... Not Only Online.
The point is that we are fond of sharing content about how to live better, and maybe it is time to live.
In case this message appeals to you, then spread it.
Post it. Talk about it. But more importantly -- do it.
Organize a game night. Take on a dance competition in your living-room. Create a pillow fort and your children. Have a water fight on a hot day.
Happiness is more contagious than even a viral post.
Conclusion- An Ad that has no Product.
This is not exactly an advertisement. It's a reminder.
The game that we lost is not lost, but is waiting. In between your to-do list and your unread e-mails, it is whispering: Come back and play.
and perhaps that is the message our world badly needs just now. Since life does not necessarily have to be work, all performance, all seriousness. It may be less serious, more carefree, more sportive.
So, here's your call to action:
- After reading this, get away out of your screen.
- Do that which makes you laugh.
- Play - even ten minutes.
The world does not have another product to be available to purchase.
It requires something to smile about.
And that, my friend, is the true advert in the game we were beaten in.
0 Comments