Lego: From Useful Toy to Marketing Ploy

Lego: from useful toy to marketing ploy


As a wee papoose, Lego was my toy of choice.

I could use it to entertain mates over for cordial and cookies on Sunday. I could throw it (lose it). Fire it at toy soldiers with rubber bands. And I could make stuff with it. I could create. Imagine something and build it.

The basic yellow, white, red and blue bricks presented me with possibilities out of count. The fantastic interchangeability of the pieces meant that, with my vast pile of white bricks, I could erect a country house complete with gables and garden. If that got boring, the house could be dismantled and the same white bricks used to build a boat. Or a castle. Or an ice cream truck. My imagination was the limit. Lego's only flaw was a rather meagre selection of brick colours. Nevertheless, Lego's brilliant simplicity gave me, and millions of others, years of entertaining creative exercise....