London - Lego has ended a 50-year link with the petrol giant Shell following protests by green campaigners.
The Danish toy maker cut ties after a video showing an Arctic landscape with a Shell drilling platform made of Lego bricks covered in oil was put online as part of a campaign by Greenpeace.
It has now announced it will not renew a current deal allowing Shell to hand out Lego sets at its petrol stations in 30 countries.
Lego chief executive, Joergen Vig Knudstorp, explained the decision by saying the protest against plans by Shell to begin drilling in the Arctic next year “may have created misunderstandings among our stakeholders”.
The three-month Greenpeace campaign – which included mock protests by Lego figures – saw more than one million people signing a petition calling on the toy brand to stop promoting Shell because of the claimed damage that will be caused to the Arctic landscape.
Mr Knudstorp said green campaigners should take up their concerns directly with the oil company, adding that Lego “should never have become part of Greenpeace’s dispute with Shell”.
Greenpeace said the toy company was doing the right thing by ditching the link. “Lego’s decision couldn’t have come soon enough,” said a spokesman.
The Lego sets involved in the promotion include racing cars and a Shell petrol station. - Daily Mail