The campaign video received nearly 6 million hits and 1,019,500 people signed the petition calling on the toy company to stop promoting Shell.
Last Thursday Danish toymaker LEGO announced it will not renew its $ 110 million promotional contract with Royal Dutch Shell ending a 50-year association. LEGO toys, including filling stations, tanker trucks, drilling rigs with Shell’s logos on them and Shell-sponsored race cars, are handed out and sold at Shell gas stations and toy stores.
Ian Duff, Arctic campaigner at Greenpeace, said “The end of the partnership is fantastic news for LEGO fans and Arctic defenders everywhere. And it's a huge blow to Shell's strategy of partnering with beloved brands to clean up its dirty image as an Arctic oil driller. It desperately needs partners like LEGO to help give it respectability. LEGO’s withdrawal from a 50-year relationship with Shell clearly shows that strategy will not work,” the Huffington Post quotes Greenpeace member.
LEGO Group president and chief executive Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said LEGO should never have become part of Greenpeace's dispute with Shell. "We do not agree with the tactics used by Greenpeace that created misunderstandings among our stakeholders about the way we operate," he added.
A spokesman for Shell said that the company enjoyed a successful and productive relationship with Lego and did not state when the contract expires - Greenpeace Nordic believes it will be within 18 months.
Of the Greenpeace campaign, Shell said: “We respect the right of individuals and organizations to engage in a free and frank exchange of views about meeting the world’s growing energy needs. We recognize the right of individuals to express their point of view. We only ask them to do so in a manner that is lawful and does not place their safety or the safety of others at risk”
Shell started exploring for oil in the Arctic in 1918 and is planning to spend billions of dollars drilling for oil and other fossil fuels in the Arctic over the next decade. The practice is under intense scrutiny because of concerns it will damage the environment and contribute to global warming. The extreme Arctic conditions, including giant floating icebergs and stormy seas, make offshore drilling extremely risky.
Edited from Business Week and CNET
