When you think of a family board game, Monopoly is likely one of the first names that pops into your head. It’s iconic and familiar, and I’m willing to bet that nearly every American household has had a copy.
And with that kind of legacy, I’ve noticed something: everyone has a Monopoly story.
Maybe it was a game night that spiraled into a full-blown argument. Or a quiet holiday afternoon with the family to pass the time until dinner’s ready. It’s the game we’ve played since childhood—where friendships are tested, and someone always ends up way too into it.
But now? Kids have thousands of digital options. The board game landscape has evolved with hundreds of competitors. Monopoly itself got a pandemic-era makeover with Covidopoly, an online variant born during lockdowns. So, how do you get anyone to care about an old-school game with cardboard cash and plastic houses?
Hasbro had an answer. And it wasn’t what anyone would have expected.
Same Old Game, Brand New Problem
Fun fact: Monopoly has been around for nearly a century.
That’s almost a hundred years of collecting rent, trading properties, and quietly (or loudly) plotting against your friends and family. But that kind of fame comes with a problem, especially in modern advertising.
Everyone is already way too familiar with the game. It’s all been done a thousand times before. To make things harder, Monopoly is still mostly positioned as a game for kids. The branding sticks to a familiar formula: happy families, tidy living rooms, lots of smiles. The kind of scene that feels more staged than real.
It’s a scene we’ve seen too many times. At this point, it’s not just your average audience fatigue, but it’s creative fatigue as well.
So, how do you market a classic game that everyone knows... maybe too well?
Hasbro’s answer: Lean into ruthlessness.
Embrace Your Inner Villain
Monopoly might be the only board game about land ownership that isn’t always fun and games. Seriously, who doesn’t have memories of a “friendly” match spiraling into a full-blown family feud?
But that’s ok.
Instead of dodging the drama, Hasbro decided to weaponize it for their campaigns. They embraced what the game does best: turn players into petty, vengeful, power-hungry mini-moguls. From that, the "All Is Fair" campaign was born.
Suddenly, Monopoly wasn’t pretending to be wholesome. It was glorifying the madness.
Two standout executions proved it:
Monopoly ads leaned all the way into ruthlessness. The players are smiling like Bond villains. Taglines that practically encouraged betrayal. No fake family fun here—just glorious, strategic chaos.
Hasbro dropped a series of genius ads showing kids mid-tantrum during Monopoly, with cheeky educational captions like:
- “For learning how to calm down.”
- “For learning to let go.
- “For learning that life isn’t fair.”
Brutal. Honest. Hilarious.
Who knew emotional destruction could be a selling point for a children's board game?
Everyone knows that when Monopoly debuts at game night, the claws come out. By coming with this fresh, new angle to market this game, it has made it feel relevant again without making changes to the core of the product.
Play Into the Truth (Even If It’s Ugly)
When brands hit a slump, the default move is usually to tweak the product experience or fall back on familiar tropes. For board games, that usually means trotting out the same polished image of a picture-perfect family game night.
Hasbro didn’t do that. Instead, they leaned into the emotional truth behind the product, not the wholesome, idealized version.
The one with tension, betrayal, shaky alliances, and dramatic meltdowns over hotel-laden properties. The kind of game night that people remember because it got a little intense. The honest version that made all the difference.
In a category full of safe, predictable ads, Monopoly broke through by doing what few brands dare to do: tell the uncomfortable truth behind their product.
Don’t shy away from the tension in your brand. Lean into it. Because when you market the truth (even if it’s messy), you earn trust, relevance, and real emotional resonance.
And in Monopoly’s case, maybe even a few happy tears.
Lean Into Your Truth (Even if It Means…)
Hasbro used Monopoly’s “villainous” hidden reputation, and they owned it. They leaned into the chaos, the family drama, the tears, and the tantrums. Because honestly? That is the Monopoly experience.
At the heart of it all was one bold move: Hasbro stopped trying to be liked by everyone and started being remembered by the right ones.
It’s the kind of branding shift that works especially well on social media, where authenticity wins and sugarcoating flops.
At Jumper Media, our Social Media Management Services are grounded in the same core belief: the best marketing starts with the truth. Authentic and relatable stories that help brands cut through the noise to build a real connection with your audience.
So if you’ve been stuck trying to please everyone, maybe it’s time to be a little more… villainous.
In a world full of brands playing it safe, the ones that win are the ones brave enough to be real (even if it ruffles a few feathers.
