Lego has been a kid-favorite for years, and for good reason. Legos are fun, simple, and educational. Boys and girls alike are drawn to them. They’ve partnered with mega-brands like Star Wars to create themed Legos. But, the true success of Lego lies in its killer marketing strategy. And that marketing strategy just went very meta with the marketing and ad campaign for the release of The Lego Movie (and ad in and of itself).
The movie received pretty good reviews and raked it in in the box office, making $69.1 million in its opening weekend. The movie has received more than 276,000 Twitter mentions in the past 7 days. And, it’s stacked with some big Hollywood names, like Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman. Plus, it’s a nostalgic movie filled with the Legos of our past.
Even though The Lego Movie is so clearly and unabashadly an advertisement for Lego, it’s getting the kind of saturation that Anchorman 2 received. Lego launched some creative marketing campaigns to promote the movie, proving that they aren’t banking The Lego Movie’s success on just having “Lego” in the title (and, that they’re hoping to sell a lot more Legos now, too).
Lego UK Commercials
For example, in the UK, Lego reenacted popular commercials for the British Heart Foundation, Premiere Inn, BT Infinitiy., and Confused.com with Lego characters as the stars of the commercials. A great way to partner with other brands to promote The Lego Movie to consumers of other products/services.
Tegan & Sara on The Soundtrack
Indie cult-favorite Tegan and Sara wrote a song for the soundtrack. The song has more than 150,000 plays on SoundCloud and is receiving heavy radion play. Enlisting an incredibly popular band with lots of street cred for the soundtrack was a really smart move. Tegan and Sara add legitimacy to the soundtrack, and therefore the movie.
Lego Gets Cultured
At the Discovery Musuem and Planetarium in Times Square created an exhibit dedicated to Lego, which opened right before the movie on February 4. “The Art of The Brick” shows that Legos aren’t just toys, but are art supplies in the hands of truly talented individuals.
Lego Movie Website
And, of course, the movie’s website engages users to enjoy the Legos online. The website has a Lego game, a feature to create your own Lego avatar, and a way to even put yourself “into” the movie.
Old School Commercial Makes a Comeback
The brand has also picked up organic buzz from the 1981 Lego ad that resurfaced on the Internet this week. Sure, it brings the gender role conversation front and center and causes controversy. But, that controversy is not necessarily with Lego itself, and it’s just reaping the benefits of the viral conversation.
