How Disney’s “We Came to Play” Campaign Spread the Magic
In an attempt to make meaningful strides with its multicultural audience and speak more directly to Black consumers, Disney Experiences’s internal agency, Yelllow Shoes, partnered with Cashmere to create the We Came to Play advertisements.
The new campaign, which won the Multicultural Excellence Award from the Association of National Advertisers, was designed to strengthen brand impact and reach underserved demographics.
According to Dawnyell Bowen, Director of Planning at Yellow Shoes, who oversaw the creation of We Came to Play, the campaign is “an intentional invitation to Black guests.”


Photo: Disney
“The campaign invites them to bring their whole selves to PLAY authentically, with swagger, and confidence,” she said. “By highlighting stories of relevance and belonging, we effectively opened up the Disney magic.”
Showcasing All the Ways to Play
The We Came to Play campaign consisted of three ads in total, two of which featured three generations of family members. According to Bowen, the goal was “to showcase that magic was open for both the young and the young at heart within our Disney experiences. There is something special and memorable for everyone.”

Photo: Disney
In addition to focusing on different generations, the We Came to Play campaign also featured different components of Disney Experiences. The commercials included a young boy at Disneyland, a tween girl at Walt Disney World, and a father on a Disney Cruise.
“Each family member was able to bring a personal perspective that allowed the audience to see, feel, and hear the magic that awaits them across our Disney experiences,” Bowen explained.


Credit: Disney
“Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth, hence the voice of a precocious little boy imagining his family as heroes in the park.”
As Walt Disney World is a larger resort, Bowen and her team chose to focus on a tween girl.
“Walt Disney World is all about magic,” Bowen continued, “It’s a larger park that needs multiple days to navigate and it’s a little more sophisticated, so we chose the voice of a tween girl, coming into her own.”
Finally, the team wanted to highlight that the Disney Cruise Line is not just for kids.


Photo: Disney
“You are constantly catered to, so this one came to life through the voice of an ‘it’ dad, proudly showing his family and his beautiful wife a great vacation,” Bowen concluded.
The Goal
When asked what she hoped viewers would take away from the ad campaign, Bowen had a simple answer.


Cinderella Castle
“We hope they’ll see all Disney experiences as inclusive and welcoming.”
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