Danish toymaker Lego would have probably preferred to have the company in the media spotlight for being the manufacturer of the most sought-after toy this holiday season.
Instead, the company found itself at the center of a Greenpeace campaign—this time targeting Shell for its plans to drill in the Arctic in search of oil and gas. The environmental group took aim at Lego’s five-decades-old relationship with Shell in which Lego toys are given to customers who buy at least 30 liters of gasoline at its filling stations, according to a Bloomberg report.
As described by Greenpeace, its three-month campaign included:
· More than 1 million people asking Lego by email to end its deal with Shell;
· Lego toy climbers protesting at a Shell gas station in Billund, Denmark, holding a sign that read “Save the Arctic, stop Shell Greenpeace;”
· Small demonstrations across the world, including in Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Paris and New York; and
· Children who used Legos to build large Arctic animals outside of Shell’s headquarters in London.
But perhaps what sent this initiative over the top was a video that Greenpeace called the most viral video in the organization’s history. As the song “Everything Is Awesome,” which was featured in The Lego Movie played, the environmental group’s video depicts Lego toys drowning in oil in an Arctic scene made of Legos. Animals, a boy and his teddy bear, even Santa Claus are swallowed up in a sea of black oil in the video, which has been viewed about 6 million times on You Tube.
The pressure proved to be too much for Lego. The company caved in last week and agreed not to renew its contract with Shell.
“The Lego brand, and everyone who enjoys creative play, should never have become part of Greenpeace’s dispute with Shell,” Lego CEO Vig Knudstorp said in a statement in a Bloomberg article. He added that Greenpeace should have a “direct conversation” with the oil major.
Even if the two sides spoke, the outcome would be difficult to predict, considering Greenpeace and Shell are polar opposites. Shell has been operating in the Arctic for more than 50 years, with the Sakhalin-2 project offshore Russia being among the company’s most prominent developments in the Arctic. The company also has plans to resume drilling in the U.S. Chukchi Sea in 2015, following mishaps that included the grounding of the company’s Kulluk drilling rig.
The incident gave Greenpeace ammunition in its pursuit to halt oil and gas exploration in one of the world’s most pristine environments. The organization’s Lego campaign was just one of many campaigns launched to drum up support for its cause as oil and gas companies seek what is estimated to be about 90 Bbbl of crude oil and 50 Tcm (1,669 Tcf) of natural gas that have been undiscovered in the Arctic, according to U.S. Geological Survey figures.
In the Bloomberg article Shell said it will continue to rely on the cooperation. “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,” a Shell representative said by email.
The news agency reported that both Lego and Shell representatives did not say when the contract would end.
Contact the author, Velda Addison, at vaddison@hartenergy.com.
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