LEGO friends is the latest attempt by LEGO to attract young girls to the brand. Business Week covered the launch extensively and well in a cover story at the end of 2011. The line was an immediate hit with “astonishing” sales, selling twice as many sets as expected and leading to a 35% jump in profits in the first half of 2012 (according to this article). But the product brought a swift, negative reaction from some. by psychologist Dr. Lyn Mikel Brown charged that: “Narrow stereotypes associated with pink and blue simply box kids in from an early age…. This is why LEGO’s latest marketing campaign has parents so angry. The rainbow of colors and a range of options for young children to create the scenes they are most interested in is much better for them than feeding them a narrow set of stereotypes.” On NPR’s Tell Me More, Bailey Shoemaker Richards said: “it’s very focused on hanging out, on appearance, on beauty shops, and it’s a very narrow and limiting sort of idea of what [a] girlhood Lego experience should be.”
The petition quickly got 50,000 signatures. Someone posted the following photoshopped version of the LEGO Friends house set: How did LEGO respond? Mads Nipper, then head of Product and Market Development, said in a prepared statement “We want to correct any misinterpretation that LEGO Friends is our only offering for girls. This is by no means the case. We know that many girls love to build and play with the wide variety of LEGO products already available. LEGO Friends joins this global collection of products as yet another theme option from which parents may choose the best building experience for their child’s skill and interest.” Michael McNally, a LEGO Brand Relations Director, agreed to meet with the protest group on February 5th. But LEGO was also supported by its fans. to stop the petition against LEGO. Another started a petition asking LEGO to keep making pink and lavender bricks. But my favorite response came from LEGO designer Mark Stafford.
Mark took the pieces from a few different LEGO Friends sets and created this , which he called Ultra Violet. My favorite detail: the claws for the hands are the lipsticks from the LEGO Friends Beauty Parlor. My take: LEGO Friends is very girly. So are some girls (including my daughter). If the sets make girls want to play with LEGO, isn’t that a good thing? Helping girls develop 3D coordination, spatial reasoning, and creative construction skills is good, isn’t it? Maybe I’m a bad father for having raised a daughter that likes pink, sparkly things. But maybe I never had a chance – maybe there’s a combination of natural inclinations and societal pressures that led to my daughter’s preferences. If you believe that LEGO is a good toy for kids, then we should be glad that LEGO has made a toy that appeals to a large subsegment of girls. Additional Shipping Charges Link Visit a LEGO® Education Learning Centre LEGO® Education Learning Centres provide adults and children with a total LEGO Education experience, with opportunities for creative problem solving,
concentration & perseverance, designing, planning & organisation, teamwork, communication, and independent thinking. Teachers can bring their early years or middle years class for a “hands on, minds on experience”. Parents can bring their children for holiday programs or birthday parties. LEGO Education Learning Centres in Australia are run by Moore Educational. Just another school day? Not at a LEGO® Education Learning Centre. Explore how robotics, mechanisms, storytelling, and creative construction engages students in playful learning. Visit a LEGO Education Learning Centre Teacher professional development at a LEGO® Education Learning Centre maximises the use of LEGO Education resources while addressing the Australia Curriculum in an engaging, creative way. Shop 5/439 Docklands Drive Ph: 03 9602 1116 Fax: 03 9602 1156 South Brisbane QLD 4101 Ph: 07 3844 6337 Fax: 07 3844 6307 LEGO Dimensions Story Pack: Ghostbu...
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Bigger characters, bigger stories and bigger possibilities are what's in store for the new LEGO Dimensions universe. You will see lots of familiar faces including: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Goonies, Gremlins, Sonic the Hedgehog and more! And all will work with the existing LEGO Dimensions toy pad. Plus, you will also find a few new added extras like Battle Arena Gameplay. The first new wave of packs are available September 27 and include: -The Ghostbusters Story Pack -Adventure Time & Mission: Impossible Level Packs -Harry Potter & Adventure Time Team Packs -And The A-Team Fun Pack Experience a Toys-To-Life sensation like never before. For the first time ever, characters from all over the LEGO universe are joining forces to battle in worlds outside their own. That's right, your favorite Lego characters now come to life in LEGO Dimensions! Pop into the portal, team up with accidental allies, journey to amazing worlds, and strive to defeat the villainous Lord Vortech ... all in an effort to save LEGO humanity.