Commentary

Lego -- Just Another Brick In The Wall? Or The Start Of Something Massive?

There is a movement gathering significant momentum this Christmas, and it isn't just sharing the #BusterTheBoxer hashtag. Stop Funding Hate has already won a huge scalp in persuading Lego to stop running promotions with The Daily Mail. I heartily expect this will not be an isolated win. For the first time, the right-wing tabloid press in the UK doesn't just face people voting with their feet and not buying their editions but using social media to encourage brands to use their ad spend in a responsible way.

The newspaper most clearly targeted by Stop Funding Hate is The Daily Mail. It has been running for a while now, but it has gained ground in the past year. You only have to read the headlines the paper runs about its views of immigrants to see why.

The straw that appears to have broken the camel's back was the headline calling out the judges who came to a pretty logical conclusion. Any decision to leave the EU has to go through parliament first -- it cannot be done by a stroke of the Prime Minister's pen. The resulting furore the Daily Mail and other tabloids kicked off was a national disgrace -- and those with a social conscience, particular those who would see the UK remain in the EU, are furious.

With tensions running high after the Brexit vote, and Trump's victory, there is a feeling -- particularly among the liberal advertising and marketing industry -- that stirring up race cannot go unanswered.

So we have a movement that has been calling on brands to avoid The Daily Mail enjoying a perfect moment where the paper is behaving at its worst, and people are ready to listen to calls for a boycott.

It's got legs too. Gary Lineker is calling on Walkers to boycott The Sun. He obviously has a beef with the paper after it reacted angrily to the ex-footballer's calls for the media to be kinder on the issue of refugees. The paper clearly went over the top in its coverage at exactly the wrong time. He's a well-loved celebrity, and there is a growing feeling that the right-wing press is out of control. He sent a very simple tweet over the weekend saying "Brick by Brick" -- referring to the Lego decision. Clearly this is a movement gathering significant weight. 

Anyone who Googled John Lewis to check out its new Christmas ad will have seen the search terms are naturally linking to Stop Funding Hate videos and social content, all asking John Lewis to avoid the "Daily Mail" in its festive campaign.

The next step is obvious. A boycott of the brands that are still advertising in the "Daily Mail," perhaps "The Sun." And there you have it. A perfect storm that shows up the division in our society, a division that is clearly visible through the EU and particularly the U.S. during the election campaign. Politics is moving to the right, stoked by the right-wing tabloids and sufficient people are getting angry enough for their calls of an ad boycott to be headed by at least one major brand. And it's all happening in the busiest quarter of all, dominated by Singles Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and the Boxing Day Sales, plus laying the foundation for New Year sales.

Lego has listened. More will follow. 

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