SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
How LEGO Got Awesome to #SaveTheArctic
Oct 09, 2014
Today we got the awesome news: after a three-month campaign supported by more than a million people worldwide, LEGO has announced it will not renew its contract with Arctic destroyer Shell.
This is fantastic news for LEGO fans and Arctic defenders everywhere. And it's a huge blow to Shell's strategy of partnering with beloved brands to clean up its dirty image as an Arctic oil driller.
So how did we win this victory for the Arctic?
Let's take a look back at the top five moments of our campaign:
5. The most viral video in Greenpeace history
LEGO: Everything is NOT awesome.UPDATE: Great news! LEGO has announced it will not renew its contract with Shell. This is a massive victory for over 1 million ...
A hot tub, a Game of Thrones character, a very sad polar bear, and the most depressing version of the most upbeat song you've ever heard. With massive media attention and almost six million views, the video was briefly taken down from YouTube due to a "copyright" claim, but was reposted after 18 hours of massive public outcry.
LEGO's youngest fans took matters into their own hands-literally. Dozens of children built giant Arctic animals out of LEGO on the doorstep of Shell's London HQ, in playful protest of their favorite toy's partnership with the oil company planning to drill the Arctic.
3. Rise of the LEGOlution
From Hong Kong to Paris to Buenos Aires, miniature LEGO people held small but furious protests against their LEGO bosses' partnership with Shell. Many recreated famous protests at international landmarks, and the LEGOlution soon spread across the world.
2. Party in LEGOland
Tiny LEGO climbers held a daring protest at a Shell gas station in Legoland in Billund, Denmark.
1. One million people speak out
After just three months, over one million people worldwide had emailed LEGO to ask it to end its inappropriate deal with Shell, showing the incredible strength and unstoppable power of our global movement.
Here in the US, supporters like you signed petitions, made your own LEGO protest signs using the "Protest-o-matic," and showed up in LEGO costumes at the flagship store in New York City. Thank you!
We're super happy LEGO has finally decided to do the right thing. It's a massive victory for the million people globally who called on LEGO to stop helping Shell look like a responsible and caring company - rather than a driller intent on exploiting the melting Arctic for more oil.
To maintain respectability in the face of growing opposition to Arctic drilling, Shell needs to surround itself with decent and much loved brands - museums, art galleries, music festivals, sports events. LEGO's announcement is an important step towards blowing Shell's cover.
But now that LEGO has quit Shell it's time for Shell to quit the Arctic. The oil giant recently announced its plans to drill in the Alaskan Arctic in 2015. Meanwhile the Arctic sea ice cover reached one of its lowest points on record this year. Time is running out to save the Arctic, and the time for urgent action is now.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Greenpeace
Today we got the awesome news: after a three-month campaign supported by more than a million people worldwide, LEGO has announced it will not renew its contract with Arctic destroyer Shell.
This is fantastic news for LEGO fans and Arctic defenders everywhere. And it's a huge blow to Shell's strategy of partnering with beloved brands to clean up its dirty image as an Arctic oil driller.
So how did we win this victory for the Arctic?
Let's take a look back at the top five moments of our campaign:
5. The most viral video in Greenpeace history
LEGO: Everything is NOT awesome.UPDATE: Great news! LEGO has announced it will not renew its contract with Shell. This is a massive victory for over 1 million ...
A hot tub, a Game of Thrones character, a very sad polar bear, and the most depressing version of the most upbeat song you've ever heard. With massive media attention and almost six million views, the video was briefly taken down from YouTube due to a "copyright" claim, but was reposted after 18 hours of massive public outcry.
LEGO's youngest fans took matters into their own hands-literally. Dozens of children built giant Arctic animals out of LEGO on the doorstep of Shell's London HQ, in playful protest of their favorite toy's partnership with the oil company planning to drill the Arctic.
3. Rise of the LEGOlution
From Hong Kong to Paris to Buenos Aires, miniature LEGO people held small but furious protests against their LEGO bosses' partnership with Shell. Many recreated famous protests at international landmarks, and the LEGOlution soon spread across the world.
2. Party in LEGOland
Tiny LEGO climbers held a daring protest at a Shell gas station in Legoland in Billund, Denmark.
1. One million people speak out
After just three months, over one million people worldwide had emailed LEGO to ask it to end its inappropriate deal with Shell, showing the incredible strength and unstoppable power of our global movement.
Here in the US, supporters like you signed petitions, made your own LEGO protest signs using the "Protest-o-matic," and showed up in LEGO costumes at the flagship store in New York City. Thank you!
We're super happy LEGO has finally decided to do the right thing. It's a massive victory for the million people globally who called on LEGO to stop helping Shell look like a responsible and caring company - rather than a driller intent on exploiting the melting Arctic for more oil.
To maintain respectability in the face of growing opposition to Arctic drilling, Shell needs to surround itself with decent and much loved brands - museums, art galleries, music festivals, sports events. LEGO's announcement is an important step towards blowing Shell's cover.
But now that LEGO has quit Shell it's time for Shell to quit the Arctic. The oil giant recently announced its plans to drill in the Alaskan Arctic in 2015. Meanwhile the Arctic sea ice cover reached one of its lowest points on record this year. Time is running out to save the Arctic, and the time for urgent action is now.
Today we got the awesome news: after a three-month campaign supported by more than a million people worldwide, LEGO has announced it will not renew its contract with Arctic destroyer Shell.
This is fantastic news for LEGO fans and Arctic defenders everywhere. And it's a huge blow to Shell's strategy of partnering with beloved brands to clean up its dirty image as an Arctic oil driller.
So how did we win this victory for the Arctic?
Let's take a look back at the top five moments of our campaign:
5. The most viral video in Greenpeace history
LEGO: Everything is NOT awesome.UPDATE: Great news! LEGO has announced it will not renew its contract with Shell. This is a massive victory for over 1 million ...
A hot tub, a Game of Thrones character, a very sad polar bear, and the most depressing version of the most upbeat song you've ever heard. With massive media attention and almost six million views, the video was briefly taken down from YouTube due to a "copyright" claim, but was reposted after 18 hours of massive public outcry.
LEGO's youngest fans took matters into their own hands-literally. Dozens of children built giant Arctic animals out of LEGO on the doorstep of Shell's London HQ, in playful protest of their favorite toy's partnership with the oil company planning to drill the Arctic.
3. Rise of the LEGOlution
From Hong Kong to Paris to Buenos Aires, miniature LEGO people held small but furious protests against their LEGO bosses' partnership with Shell. Many recreated famous protests at international landmarks, and the LEGOlution soon spread across the world.
2. Party in LEGOland
Tiny LEGO climbers held a daring protest at a Shell gas station in Legoland in Billund, Denmark.
1. One million people speak out
After just three months, over one million people worldwide had emailed LEGO to ask it to end its inappropriate deal with Shell, showing the incredible strength and unstoppable power of our global movement.
Here in the US, supporters like you signed petitions, made your own LEGO protest signs using the "Protest-o-matic," and showed up in LEGO costumes at the flagship store in New York City. Thank you!
We're super happy LEGO has finally decided to do the right thing. It's a massive victory for the million people globally who called on LEGO to stop helping Shell look like a responsible and caring company - rather than a driller intent on exploiting the melting Arctic for more oil.
To maintain respectability in the face of growing opposition to Arctic drilling, Shell needs to surround itself with decent and much loved brands - museums, art galleries, music festivals, sports events. LEGO's announcement is an important step towards blowing Shell's cover.
But now that LEGO has quit Shell it's time for Shell to quit the Arctic. The oil giant recently announced its plans to drill in the Alaskan Arctic in 2015. Meanwhile the Arctic sea ice cover reached one of its lowest points on record this year. Time is running out to save the Arctic, and the time for urgent action is now.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.