With an LGBTQ-themed set, LEGO joined the Pride month. With the rainbow figures that will also hit the shelves in our country, the Danish manufacturer aims to draw attention to acceptance, diversity, and love. But what could be behind the rainbow?
1. LEGO announced on its Twitter page on May 20 2. that it will launch an LGBTQ-themed collection, 3. in celebration of the international Pride month 4. and calls attention to acceptance and love. The announcement was not overhyped, no events were organized – although it wouldn't have been fortunate due to the coronavirus pandemic – no online broadcast was advertised, they settled for just 91 characters, a few emojis and hashtags, as well as 4 photos. 5. Source: twitter.com.
7. LEGO adheres to the principle of „less is sometimes more,” as their post quickly garnered over 11,000 retweets and more than 38,000 likes, not to mention the completely free and highly valuable organic reach. Of course, the Danes also struck while the iron was hot, as an.
8. interview 9. with the set's designer, Matthew Ashton, was uploaded to their YouTube channel on the same day as the announcement. 10. What could be behind the rainbow?.
11. An advertisement, a campaign, or any market activity is born with predetermined and supported goals. It follows directly that the world's leading toy manufacturer has also taken stock of the possible advantages and disadvantages, and meticulously modeled all scenarios. The question is what commitment and mission the newest member of the LEGO portfolio will soon bring to store shelves.
12. Pink marketing.
13. In Western societies, the acceptance of sexual and ethnic groups is increasingly growing, and as the concealment decreases, the size of these groups continues to expand. Pink marketing saw the business opportunity in these groups.
14. The opportunity was none other than communication towards the LGBTQ community, as well as the products and services offered to them and advertised with them. "Pink money" is nothing but the sympathy gained through the targeted activities of "pink companies." Pink marketing has evolved into such a business today that most industry segments and companies eagerly and effectively use this type of marketing tool.
15. The „profitable” equality.
16. Our society is characterized by division stemming from otherness and the lack of acceptance of otherness, and in many cases, violence as well.
17. The unsustainability of the situation has been recognized by even the smallest garage businesses to the world's leading multinational companies. Each tries to act according to its own capabilities for the sake of equality and acceptance. Of course, due to their economic superiority and global presence, leading global companies play a significant role in this struggle, launching eye-catching campaigns one after another to draw attention to love and the diversity of love. A global, as well as a domestic example, is Coca-Cola's.
18. Love is love campaign 19. whose message also aligns with the aforementioned., whose message also corresponds to the aforementioned ones.
The cola companies were also aware that the reactions and feedback would vary widely, sometimes they had to consider recontextualizing the message, yet the end result was that for weeks the news was about this activity, and in doing so, they were able to reach a lot of people with their message.
With a pinch of malice, we can state: these companies would not risk either their decades-long brand recognition or their profits (and certainly not their market position) if there were the slightest doubt about the return on their campaign. In other words, there is a noble goal, as well as a swelling bank account. Morally, it could even be questionable that they stand behind an initiative with such a motivation, but it does not change the essence: the system works, and the message reaches the „user.”.
Profit-making
The worst-case scenario: we pretend to support an initiative, and in the end, we splash around like Uncle Scrooge in our dollar-lined pool at the shores of the market economy and wild capitalism.
A world brand has faced such criticism before; it is enough to think of United Colors of Benetton and its unmistakable and provocative advertisements. The article is not tasked with determining the validity of the criticism, yet there is an absurdity to the situation, as it did draw attention to issues like AIDS, racism, poverty, war, and violence, but at the same time, its pricing policy and profit-making also triggered its own „people-destroying” effect.
Besides Benetton, Nike has also received its share, because even a few years before the BLM movement it advertised itself with Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick was the first to speak out against the discrimination of blacks in the NFL. As a demonstration, he knelt during the national anthem before games and expressed his views in interviews. He did not achieve breakthrough success at that time, quickly faded from the league, and has not had a team since. Nike exploited this situation when they chose Kaepernick as the face of their campaign and placed the slogan „Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” next to the Nike logo. At the beginning of the campaign, of course, there was a call for a boycott, a drop in shares, but in the end, the company's balance was still positive.
Let's wait for the end
It is a fact that LEGO has taken a hard hit with the LGBTQ set: the topic is sensitive, and the reception will likely be sufficiently mixed. Over time, the results of the campaign will be determinable (both socially and economically), and it will also be worth paying attention to how LEGO will express itself in the future, possibly participating in social issues.
Until then, we have to make do with the rainbow figures.
