MGA Entertainment’s innovative campaign featuring viral kid rapper The Rizzler won Gold in Content and Gold in Retail at The Drum Awards for Marketing, turning a holiday gift card into a cultural moment and reclaiming toy sales dominance against retail giants.
In 2024, the National Retail Federation predicted that gift cards would dethrone toys as the #1 holiday gift. But MGA Entertainment wasn't about to let that slide. Already battling for name recognition against heavyweights like Lego, Hasbro, and Mattel, MGA knew they couldn't play it safe. So, they did what any mogul would do—they turned a holiday staple into a cultural moment and reinvented the toy catalog as the ultimate power move—a diss track.
They brought in viral kid rapper The Rizzler, a 7-year-old with the charisma to light up any room, to front the high-energy, shoppable music video. The track premiered on YouTube and quickly dominated streaming platforms like it was born to go viral. Within 24 hours, the campaign blew up, selling out inventory, flooding social media with remixes, memes, and even inspiring a crypto coin. By the end, MGA didn't just snatch the crown for toys; they made sure the streets knew their name once and for all.
Built in just 6 weeks, this campaign skyrocketed to 7M+ views across social media, 3.4M additional impressions from reshares, and 545.7M impressions from press coverage.
Ready to get your work recognized on a global stage? Enter The Drum Awards today. Need more inspiration? Read our Award Winning Case Studies.
VIRTUE Worldwide
VIRTUE is the creative agency born from VICE. With presence in 21 countries, VIRTUE crafts campaigns, platforms, and IP for some of the most important brands on...