Lego will not renew its promotional contract with Shell, the toy company has said after it was targeted by environmental campaigners who oppose the oil giant's plans to drill in the Arctic.More than a million people signed a petition calling on Lego to stop promoting Shell because of its plans to drill for oil in the polar region, during a three month campaign by Greenpeace.Greenpeace also staged a series of tiny protests with Lego figures outside Shell garages and national landmarks in a bid to get the Danish company to end its 50-year association with the oil firm. Greenpeace photo of Lego figures fitted with protest banners In a statement, Lego Group president and chief executive Jørgen Vig Knudstorp said the company did not agree with Greenpeace's tactics and the brand should not have become part of the green group's dispute with Shell.But he said Lego would not be renewing its promotional contract with Shell, which currently allows children in many parts of the world to collect sets such as Lego racing cars and a Shell station when their parents fill up with petrol.
Mr Knudstorp said: " The long-term co-promotion contract we entered with Shell in 2011 delivers on the objective of bringing Lego bricks into the hands of many children, and we will honour it - as we would with any contract we enter.But he added: "We continuously consider many different ways of how to deliver on our promise of bringing creative play to more children."We want to clarify that as things currently stand we will not renew the co-promotion contract with Shell when the present contract ends."Lego refused to say when the current contract expires.Greenpeace insisted the toy company was doing the right thing under public pressure and should choose its partners more carefully when it came to the threats facing children from climate change.The environmental group is calling for a sanctuary to be created in the Arctic to protect it from drilling and industrial fishing, and for there to be no oil exploration in Arctic waters as the melting ice cap makes the fragile region more accessible.
Shell has indicated it will attempt to drill again next year in the US Arctic, despite previous problems culminating in its drill vessel the Kulluk running aground as it was being towed across the Gulf of Alaska in 2012.Ian Duff, Arctic campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "This is a major blow to Shell. It desperately needs partners like Lego to help give it respectability and repair the major brand damage it suffered after its last Arctic misadventure."Lego's withdrawal from a 50-year relationship with Shell clearly shows that strategy will not work."The tide is turning for these fossil fuel dinosaurs that see the melting Arctic as ripe for exploitation rather than protection."The message should be clear: your outdated, climate-wrecking practices are no longer socially acceptable, and you need to keep away from the Arctic or face being ostracised by society."He added: "Lego's decision couldn't have come soon enough. The iconic and beautiful Arctic, and its incredible wildlife, like polar bears and narwhals, is under threat like never before."
A Shell spokeswoman said: "Our latest co-promotion with Lego has been a great success and will continue to be as we roll it out in more countries across the world. We don't comment on contractual matters."We respect the right of individuals and organisations to engage in a free and frank exchange of views about meeting the world's growing energy needs."Recognising the right of individuals to express their point of view, we only ask that they do so in a manner that is lawful and does not place their safety or the safety of others at risk."LEGO® Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sets are a great childrens toy. They can be great if you can pick them up in a toy sale, or in the childrens toy section of sites like eBay. Children have loved playing with Lego for many years. They are the kind of toy that will last forever. The Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sets are a great series that are sure to bring lots of enjoyment for your children. To view the Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles instructions for a particular set,
click on the thumbnail image or title of that set. LEGO® 30271 from 2014 LEGO® 79115 from 2014 LEGO® 79116 from 2014 Big Rig Snow Getaway LEGO® 79117 from 2014 LEGO® 79118 from 2014 LEGO® 79119 from 2014 LEGO® 79120 from 2014 LEGO® 79121 from 2014 Turtle Sub Undersea Chase LEGO® 79122 from 2014 LEGO® 30270 from 2013 LEGO® 79100 from 2013 LEGO® 79101 from 2013 LEGO® 79102 from 2013 Stealth Shell In Pursuit LEGO® 79103 from 2013 LEGO® 79104 from 2013 The Shellraiser Street Chase LEGO® 79105 from 2013 ) which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this siteLego's brand partnership with Shell is ill-judged, argues Katie CollinsGreenpeace has created a parody video entitled Everything is NOT awesome as part of a campaign to bring to an end Lego's brand partnership with oil company Shell.Put together by London creative agency Don't Panic, the video depicts Lego minifigs, including Father Christmas, huskies and polar bears drowning in oil with a maudlin version of Everything is Awesome from The Lego Movie soundtrack as backing music.
As you might imagine, it's pretty dark, but it's also very effective. Everyone loves Lego," the video caption states. "But when Lego's halo effect is being used to sell propaganda to children, especially by an unethical corporation who are busy destroying the natural world our children will inherit, we have to do something. "Children's imaginations are an unspoilt wilderness. Help us stop Shell polluting them by telling Lego to stop selling Shell-branded bricks and kits today."A link underneath takes you to a petition encouraging Lego to "dump Shell".Lego has already responded to the video with a statement, whichyou can read in full here. In it, Lego president and CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp says: "The Greenpeace campaign focuses on how Shell operates in a specific part of the world. We firmly believe that this matter must be handled between Shell and Greenpeace. We are saddened when the Lego brand is used as a tool in any dispute between organisations. "We expect that Shell lives up to their responsibilities wherever they operate and take appropriate action to any potential claims should this not be the case.
I would like to clarify that we intend to live up to the long term contract with Shell, which we entered into in 2011."Way to pass the buck, Lego. It's true that Greenpeace already has beef with Shell and that the Save the Arctic campaign is not necessarily Lego's battle to fight, but highlighting the inappropriateness of the partnership seems fair. After all, a company is known by the company it keeps with other companies, and Lego's motto, as Jørgen Vig Knudstorp points out in his statement, is "only the best is good enough". If that is true of the product, why is it not also true of Lego's partnerships?Greenpeace's argument is a powerful one: Lego has built its reputation on making the world a better place for children, and its partnership with Shell doesn't resonate with that. The partnership doesn't even make sense in light of Lego's commitment to creating "the best" play experiences -- it's been a while since I was a child, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have particularly wanted Shell branding on my bricks or minifigs.
"We are determined to leave a positive impact on society and the planet that children will inherit," writes Jørgen Vig Knudstorp. If anything, this implies that Lego is the kind of company that would actively support the preservation of polar bears, rather than signing a contract with a company operating within an industry that may eventually contribute to their demise.Children's brands have a responsibility when it comes to choosing partners, because these partnerships serve as direct endorsements of certain types of behaviour, whether this is behaviour exhibited by an individual, a group of individuals or a company. I'm an adult and I'm getting mixed messages from Lego, so goodness knows what subliminal ideas this is implanting in the minds of kids.Shell and Lego were in cahoots between the 1960s and 90s and then rekindled their relationship in 2011. For Shell, the partnership serves as a promotion exercise -- it is piggybacking on Lego's wholesome, family-friendly image and infiltrating the imaginations of future generations of adults at the same time.