Any parent of small children knows the sinking feeling that comes when their kid gets the dreaded present with a thousand pieces. These usually come
via your single sister or brother (the beloved, hyper-generous aunt or uncle) who is exacting some kind of puckish revenge on the parental sibling. "Oh, how nice, Janey, Aunt Sue got you the play
grocery store with 5,000 plastic blueberries," you "celebrate" while shooting eye-daggers at your sister. "Thanks, sis. You gonna come over here and find those damn berries when they end up strewn
across the living room," you ask Aunt Sue later.
Traditionally, LEGO gets a special pass in this regard. This defies parents' better judgment, by the way. There is nothing quite as painful to
the bare-soled paternal foot as a LEGO you walk upon on your way to comfort a crying child at 3 am. Still, few toys have so much good will on bank. Parents associate the toy with their own youth, and
the company's brilliant branding as a creative tool for youngsters is hard to decry. And damn, those 20-foot high LEGO dinosaurs and LEGO Chewbaccas are pretty hard to resist. In recent years LEGO
allied with video game manufacturers to partner on game versions of popular franchise films ("Star Wars," Pirates, et. al.) using LEGO-ized versions of the main characters. They have infiltrated kids'
cartoons as well, and so appropriately, they are chief sponsors of video and other digital assets at CartoonNetwork.com
Like plastic blocks penetrating the couch seat cushions and drilling
deeply into the shag carpet, LEGO is doing a deep integration with the Turner Broadcasting site in a special section. LEGO is
sponsoring video and games related to many of its cartoon extensions like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Hero Factory."
They are sponsoring a Spinjitsu Smash DX online game and also offering
LEGO branded characters and logos CN visitors can use on the site profiles. You access more LEGO assets by acquiring achievement badges in games and watching short form videos. The marketing
partnership was executed by LEGO's AOR Starcom and will extend through the year and across the on-air shows. LEGO VP of Marketing Mike Moynihan says in a statement that the deep integration reflects
the ways in which fans are experiencing content across platforms and franchises.
In being everywhere on the site, and now in our consciousness, LEGO has performed that rare feat of crafting a
brand strategy that mimics the real-life behavior of its product, forever underfoot but somehow always morphing into something adorable, creative and ultimately disposable.
Ouch! Damn! Kids, I
want to see all of these LEGOs off the living room floor and in a box in the next five minutes or they are all going in the trash. Aunt Sue is getting opera tickets for her birthday. That will teach
her.