The Lego War

Coming across an alternative news platform the VICE News, which provides socially aware information under the headings of Environment, War & Conflict and so on for the "connected generation", I took notice of an interesting piece on how Lego has ended its partnership with Shell due to consumer pressure that stems from the opposition to Shell's oil drilling activities in the Arctic Region.

Besides the fact that this is a clear example of consumer impact and how it has been achieved via spreading content via social media, the most compelling thing about it is that the Youtube video "Everything is NOT Awesome" Greenpeace made is not of true real life material. It's a cleverly targeted animation made with Legos of events yet to come, which is successful in not only delivering the message but with also delivering the end result; an actual change in corporate relations for the benefit of the environment.

What's great about the Greenpeace animation, too, is that it's not based on something that has already happened, which I think people find empowering. I remember seeing the horrendous images of the so-called BP oil disaster in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, which is referred to by Wikipedia as the world's largest marine oil spill accident so far, and whilst they made me feel sick to my stomach I ended up doing nothing, because after all, there was nothing to be done at that point. It was just easier to shut the browser done and move onto topics a lot more pleasant. What Greenpeace achieved with their Lego animation is "shareable" online content which has led to something that makes a difference.