The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2025
Mattel's Puasa Play turns Ramadan fasting into toy mashup games
When Malaysian children as young as six fast, Mattel gave play a job: mashup games with its iconic toys to make the day go faster.
Mattel
What it had to solve
In Malaysia many children begin fasting as early as six, and for them the long hours between meals can feel endless while parents struggle to keep them committed. Mattel saw an opportunity to give play a bigger purpose, but playing with the same toy over and over quickly becomes boring, so the brand needed new ways to play that could hold a child's attention through the fasting day.
How it works
In Malaysia, children commonly begin fasting during Ramadan from about age six, and the hours until sunset feel long for someone that young. Parents who encourage the fast look for ways to keep children occupied, but the same toy played the same way gets boring. Mattel's answer was to give play a purpose: make the waiting itself more fun.
With Mediabrands Content Studio, Mattel launched #PuasaPlay in March 2025, a series of mashup games that combined its iconic toys in unexpected ways — Barbie's Camouflage Dress-Up, Mystery Raya Décor, Thomas & Friends Raya Theme Stations, Mattel Toy Charades and Make the Jump. Each game dropped on social media with step-by-step instructions, and influencers showed parents how to run them at home.
The play ideas were reinforced everywhere fasting families gathered: e-commerce promotions and a Shopee LIVE showcase, Toys "R" Us outlets turned into Puasa Play Zones with digital screens steering children away from mall eateries, and interactive billboards near food courts offered playful prompts. Parents started sharing their own takes and inventing mashups, and the campaign collected Silvers at the Malaysian Effie Awards 2025 plus recognition at the Kancil Awards 2025.
Why it lands
- Mashing up toys families already owned removed the purchase barrier — the campaign asked for new ways to play, not new toys.
- Dropping a new game every few days gave fasting a rhythm, turning a long stretch into a series of small moments to anticipate.
- Placing play prompts at food courts and in stores attacked the exact moment hunger peaks, when children and parents are most likely to give up.
- Influencer demonstrations equipped parents with confidence, showing ordinary households how to run each game rather than just advertising it.
- Exclusive toy bundles and shop zones converted the cultural insight into retail without making the campaign feel like a sale.
What it did
Parents began sharing their own Puasa Play moments, some inventing original mashups of their own. The Malaysian Effie Awards 2025 recognised the campaign with Silvers for retail and for small-budget products, and the work appeared among the winners of the Kancil Awards 2025 in the digital experience and commerce categories.
What you can take
When a ritual such as fasting makes time the enemy, a toy brand's job is not to sell more toys but to re-rule the ones families already own, so play itself carries the cultural insight.
Since then
#PuasaPlay ran through the 2025 Ramadan season and stayed in the record as a multiplatform campaign: the games, the retailer zones and the out-of-home prompts were collected in the Kancil Awards entries, and the Malaysian Effie Awards 2025 gave the work Silvers in retail and in small-budget products, contributing to MBCS being named Agency of the Year. The campaign became a reference for how a global toy brand can enter a religious season with utility rather than merchandising, meeting parents in a moment they actually struggle with.
Sources
- Puasa Play — Kancil Awards 2025 winners entry
- Mattel uses power of play to distract children from hunger this Ramadan
- 2025 Malaysia Effie Awards winners and finalists
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