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Viral video petitions Lego to stop promoting Shell oil to kids Reader submitted
Jen de Montalk
In a video that has now gone viral, Greenpeace is calling on Lego to stop selling oil company-branded toys to children.
The video depicts an arctic landscape made of Lego becoming slowly submerged in oil, and links to a petition to end a promotional partnership that was forged between Shell and the kids’ toy company in 2011.
Shell-branded Lego has been available for years but the oil company’s plans to drill the Arctic for oil is new impetus for ending the partnership, Greenpeace New Zealand blogger Sondhya Gupta writes.
The latest deal, which includes car manufacturer Ferrari, makes branded sets of toys available when people buy petrol from Shell stations.
Shell Global announced the promotion in a media release in January this year.
“Shell and Ferrari have teamed up with the Lego Group to bring you the Ferrari Model Lego Collection. Modelled on six iconic Ferrari vehicles, you can build your own collection of exclusive Lego models when you fill up with Shell V-Power,” the release says.
On its petition website, Greenpeace calls the co-promotion an attempt by Shell to “prop up its public image” while it plans to drill the Arctic for oil.
In a separate press release, Lego Group chief executive Jørgen Vig Knudstorp says the co-promotion is a way to give more children access to the toys.
“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,” Mr Vig Knudstorp says.
Convincing Lego to cut ties with the oil company will make it harder for Shell to get the public support it needs for Arctic oil drilling, Greenpeace says.
At the time this was published the video had over 5 million views and the petition 721373 signatories.
Related links
Lego press release
Sondhya Gupta's blog