Those clever cookies at Lego have teetered on the edge of genius with their latest piece of content marketing – The Lego Movie. As the in-movie earworm "Everything is awesome" hints, things are pretty cheery at Lego towers right now. Notching up box office receipts of more than $250m in the US and £31m in the UK by the first weekend in April is a storming result in cinematic terms (it cost about $60m to make) but the more fascinating stats will be the sales figures of Lego in the coming years. Yes, this movie is a stunning piece of content marketing dressed up in a silver screen ball gown. Many franchise films are planned knowing that much of the cash made will come from sales of "merch", yet Lego's efforts feel different in part because it is the brand as a whole rather than a specific set of characters that are popularised each time someone watches the film. While there are all sorts of great examples of content marketing, a common theme is that a brand will create useful or entertaining content targeted at consumers that will soon be in a position to pay for the company's services/products;
the actual content itself can be almost anything but it should stay within the spirit of the brand's image, even if it is not strictly related. Think about Red Bull's Stratos project among others – do you really need an energy drink to jump from space? As a product, Lego is for kids, so the Lego marketing team's main challenge is to make their products appealing to children; however, it is the parents, aunties, uncles, grandparents and godparents who hold the purse strings. This is where the joy – and the genius – comes in: The Lego Movie is a ripping adventure for kids, but is also great fun for adults. It would have been easy for Lego to make a piece of nonsense that played well for kids, but instead the company brought in Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (of 21 Jump Street and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs fame) to create a genuinely funny and clever movie. For those that have not seen it, there is a twist in the tale that completely fits with the spirit of Lego without looking contrived, but even without that, the zany and inventive way the story zips along is like an advert for playing with these toys.
There are no rules. The limit of the story is the limit of your imagination. The importance of making this story enjoyable for adults cannot be understated, as they might buy children's toys for a huge number of young relations and friends' kids over the ensuing decades. It is a huge coup to persuade adults essentially to be indoctrinated with the Lego spirit of adventure. Compare that to the groans of agony coming from theatres in 2007 when the Bratz movie was released (currently featuring a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), as parents worldwide cursed the cinema gods. The benefits of this Lego film are not just limited to the supportive spending of adults either. What makes a children's movie such an enduring legacy is that it firstly finds its excitable audience in the cinema, then the young viewers eagerly snap up a DVD that can be viewed several times over and will probably sit in the DVD collection for years. As the child grows up, they will inevitably feel nostalgic about the films they watched as a mite and watch them again in adulthood, perhaps even showing it to a young relative and beginning the cycle again.
Think about how Disney's hand-drawn classics have endured, or the acclaim that meets Pixar's more modern masterpieces; a lifetime or more of awareness is created. Now it has been confirmed that animation co-director Chris McKay will direct a Lego sequel to be released in 2017. His work on Robot Chicken bodes well for the film, as does the presence of Lord and Miller as producers. He has instantly shown an awareness of a problem Lego has struggled with in the past by pointing out that the first movie perhaps would not pass the Bechdel test in spite of the prominence of main characters Wyldstyle and Unikitty; McKay wants more stronger women in the sequel. Lego's Friends product range, released with the aim of raising the brand's profile among girls, was heavily criticised despite bringing in healthy profits, so if Lego can use the second film to correct this gender politics misstep then the brand will be showing another level entirely of content marketing brilliance. All of this while steering clear of sales messages: simply marketing through entertainment.
Pablo Smithson is a campaign delivery manager for Red Rocket Media. Find him on Twitter @PablitoSmithson. To get weekly news analysis, job alerts and event notifications direct to your inbox, sign up free for Media Network membership. All Guardian Media Network content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled 'Advertisement feature'. Find out more here.With its international box office easily climbing past $400 million, there’s no doubt that struck a chord with audiences. Now fans can bring the frenetic fun home with them when The LEGO Movie Blu-ray becomes available on June 17th. Not only will the animated family-friendly film come in a Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD 2-Disc Special Edition, and Digital varieties, but there will also be an “Everything Is Awesome” Edition with exclusive LEGO Minifigure and more. The film features the voice talents of , , , , , , , , , , and .Hit the jump for more on The LEGO Movie Blu-ray.Check out The LEGO Movie Blu-ray press release below for all the pertinent details:EVERYTHING IS AWESOME WHEN THE LEGO UNIVERSE ASSEMBLES!
The LEGO® Movie ARRIVES ONTO BLU-RAYÔ COMBO PACK, DVD 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION, and DIGITAL HDÔ ON JUNE 17 FROM WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT Also available is the EVERYTHING IS AWESOME EDITION with exclusive LEGO minifigure, bonus 3D movie, and more! Burbank, CA, April 17, 2014 – Everything will be awesome when “The LEGO® Movie” arrives onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD 2-disc Special Edition, and Digital HD on June 17 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Village Roadshow Pictures. Directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “21 Jump Street”), “The LEGO Movie” is the hilarious story of a nobody who saves everybody. “The LEGO Movie” stars Chris Pratt as the voice of Emmet, an ordinary LEGO minifigure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, and Will Ferrell as the voice of President Business, aka Lord Business, an uptight CEO who has a hard time balancing world domination with micro-managing his own life.
Voicing the members of Emmet’s rebel crew on this heroic mission are Morgan Freeman (“Oblivion”) as the ancient mystic Vitruvius; Elizabeth Banks (“The Hunger Games”) as tough-as-nails Wyldstyle, who mistakes Emmet for the savior of the world and guides him on his quest; Will Arnett (“The Millers”) as the mysterious BatmanÔ, a LEGO minifigure with whom Wyldstyle shares a history; Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”) as the craggy, swaggering pirate Metal Beard, obsessed with revenge on Lord Business; Alison Brie (“Community”) as the sweet and loveable Unikitty and Charlie Day (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) as Benny, the 1980-something Spaceman. From a story by Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, “The LEGO Movie” was produced by Dan Lin (“Gangster Squad,”) and Roy Lee (“The Grudge”), with Jill Wilfert, Matthew Ashton, Kathleen Fleming, Allison Abbate, Zareh Nalbandian, Jon Burton, Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Seanne Winslow, Matt Skiena and Bruce Berman serving as executive producers, and John Powers Middleton as co-producer.
“The LEGO Movie” will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99 and includes the film in high definition on Blu-ray Disc, a DVD, and a digital version of the film in Digital HD with UltraViolet*. “The LEGO Movie” “Everything is Awesome Edition” Blu-ray Combo Pack is available for $59.98 and includes an exclusive LEGO Vitruvius minifigure, a bonus 3D movie, collectible 3D Emmet photo, exclusive bonus content, a DVD, and a digital version of the movie on Digital HD with UltraViolet*. Fans can also own “The LEGO Movie” in Digital HD same day via purchase from digital retailers. The original 3D computer-animated story follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as The Special, the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. “The LEGO Movie” Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD 2-Disc Special Edition contain the following special features: “The LEGO Movie” Everything is Awesome Edition Blu-ray Combo Pack contains the following special features:
“The LEGO Movie” will be available for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on their favorite devices from select digital retailers including Amazon, CinemaNow, Flixster, iTunes, PlayStation, Target Ticket, Vudu, Xbox and others. Starting May 20, “The LEGO Movie” will also be available digitally on Video On Demand services from cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles. *Digital HD with UltraViolet allows fans to watch a digital version of their movie or TV show anywhere, on their favorite devices. Digital HD with UltraViolet is included with the purchase of specially marked Blu-ray discs. Digital HD with UltraViolet allows consumers to instantly stream and download movies and TV shows to TVs, computers, tablets and smartphones through UltraViolet retail services like CinemaNow, Flixster, Target Ticket, VUDU and more. Consult an UltraViolet Retailer for details and requirements and for a list of HD-compatible devices.