Oil-Covered Legos Doom Toy Deal with Shell
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iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Lego is ending its toy marketing partnership with Shell after facing a widely circulated campaign from the environmental group Greenpeace.
In a statement Wednesday, the Danish toy maker announced it will not renew the long-term co-promotion contract it entered with Shell in 2011, which allows the distribution of Lego sets at Shell gas stations in over two dozen countries.
The move followed a Greenpeace video protesting arctic drilling that was posted on YouTube. The video, which has garnered nearly six million views, shows an arctic landscape with Lego pieces covered in oil.
While noting that the company is “determined to leave a positive impact on society and the planet that children will inherit,” Lego CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp said “we do not want to be part of Greenpeace’s campaign.”
“The Greenpeace campaign uses the LEGO brand to target Shell. As we have stated before, we firmly believe Greenpeace ought to have a direct conversation with Shell. The LEGO brand, and everyone who enjoys creative play, should never have become part of Greenpeace’s dispute with Shell,” Vig Knudstorp said in a statement Wednesday.
Greenpeace called Lego’s announcement “fantastic news for LEGO fans and Arctic defenders everywhere,” adding that it’s “huge blow to Shell’s strategy of partnering with beloved brands to clean up its dirty image as an Arctic oil driller.”
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