Forbes.com reports that 50 years of friendship between Lego and Shell could be coming to an end, at least if Greenpeace has anything to do with it. Some 250,000 people worldwide have already signed a petition for Lego to end its partnership with the oil company, according to Jyllands-Posten.
Yesterday Greenpeace released an animated video depicting an Arctic scene made of Lego pieces that slowly becomes submerged in thick black oil, leaving only a flag with the Shell logo visible above the sea and the tagline: “Shell is polluting our children’s imaginations”.
Targeting Lego to hurt Shell
For two years, as part of Greenpeace’s ‘Save the Arctic’ campaign, the environmental organisation has been targeting Shell’s drilling in the region.
And it is now turning its attention to Shell’s long-standing co-operation with the Danish toy company, which produces Shell-branded tanker trucks and petrol stations in its toy range. Shell and Lego have most recently signed a deal to sell Shell-branded cars at filling stations in 26 countries.
Greenpeace "disappointed" that Lego is "saddened"
Lego chief executive Jørgen Vig Knudstrop wrote in a press release at the beginning of the month that Greenpeace’s campaign was a matter between Shell and Greenpeace. “We are saddened that the Lego brand is being used as an instrument in a dispute between the organisations,” he said.
Ian Duff, an Arctic campaigner at Greenpeace, told Forbes.com that Lego’s statement was “strange and disappointing”.
See the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhbliUq0_r4
