Hello, Lego Team! Thank you for your views

The PR company said:

Dear Iota,

Thank you for your response in regards to our invite to the LEGO Friends event, firstly please accept our sincere apologies, although we would have loved to have you there obviously travelling from the US would be a little extreme! We've updated our UK correspondence list and will ensure to pass on your details to the US team so they can keep you updated of any future events.

That aside, you raised some very interesting points in your blog post and here at LEGO we welcome all feedback so wanted to take this opportunity to respond to these and address any concerns you may have about the Friends range.

At LEGO we believe in providing all children a choice when it comes to the way they play and what they choose to play with. It is this belief which continually drives us to develop the LEGO play experience to ensure it continues to cater to all children, their passions and interests.

Although LEGO is well loved by children all over the world the fact remains that it does predominantly appeal more to boys than girls. In fact, in the US, only 9% of active LEGO households indicate that a girl is the primary user and in the UK it is 18%. Statistics tell us that the vast majority of girls feel that LEGO doesn't offer a play experience that caters to their needs and interests as they grow. In short, girls have for many years now asked for more from the LEGO range.

So after four years of extensive research, during which time we spoke to thousands of girls and parents across the world, we were proud to launch LEGO Friends to the market. The research helped us to shape the range that exists today and we have gone to great lengths to try to ensure it encompasses everything they asked for. One of the main things to come out of the research was that girls wanted a product that mirrored all the constuction elements of the LEGO whilst also combining the opportunity for realistic, character-based role-play and creativity.

Our research also told us what we already know, that all girls are different, they have different needs, interests, passions and ambitions. We hoped by creating a variety of settings and scenarios within Friends, which allow for a whole host of different play experiences, girls will find something that resonates with them - whether that's animals, science, design, inventions, cars, music, art, cooking, exploration or simply building their own mini treehouse – LEGO Friends offers something for them to engage with.

Whilst the construction experience remains exactly the same as any other LEGO product, we have added some new coloured bricks into the range including blues, purples and greens (interestingly pink has existed within the LEGO range for quite a few years now). We also added in smaller details including stickers and accessories to allow for further customisation of the sets, again something girls had expressed an interest in. LEGO's ultimate goal is to invite more girls to enjoy the LEGO play and build experience and we hope that the new LEGO Friends range does exactly that.

We're always happy to hear feedback so if you have any more questions or would like to hear more from us please do let us know.

Kind regards,
L

And I replied:

Dear L

Thank you very much for giving Lego the opportunity to address the points I made in my recent blog post. There are a number of interesting comments on the post, which you might like to feed back to Lego.

It's a complicated issue, isn't it? Lego researches the market, and gives girls what they want. I really can't quibble with that. But of course to a large extent, children want what they're told they want by a whole range of people, among whom are the toy companies. Girls have been - is 'brainwashed' too strong a word? - to be somewhat stereotypical in their desires.

As mothers, we want them to know that the world is a big place and we want to extend rather than narrow their imaginations. I'm pleased that the Friends range does contain "a variety of settings and scenarios". At least the Friends predominant colour is purple, not pink, and it's not too sparkly (from what I've seen). I suppose that's something. There's an Invention Workshop in there alongside the Cafe, the Stage, and the Splash Pool - I hope that proves to be the most popular, but I won't hold my breath on that one.

In my opinion, Lego is fielding some of the backlash that is (hurrah) starting to swell against the pink girlie-girl vacuous culture that seems to dominate the toy and media worlds. It's probably because Lego is such a trusted brand. None of us would get upset about Mattel bringing out a new range of girl toys in which five BFFs can explore beauty shops and fashion design studios, because that's what Mattel does. I guess it just feels worse from Lego. Sorry, Lego. Perhaps we have you on too much of a (moulded plastic) pedestal.

Thank you for your reply, which I am posting on my blog.

Best wishes

Iota