Comments on: LEGO: A 50-Year Old Brand Icon

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 09:58:50 +0000

Of course Lego have made some efforts – but it just hasn’t got anywhere.

http://alex.woodruff.de/market-development-or-product-development/

And no, I’m not saying this to plug my own business blog – it just strikes me as disappointing for such a big brand – now 50 years old.

By: Prescott Perez-Fox

Prescott Perez-Fox — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:25:40 +0000

BuzzWolf’s point is interesting, but I feel like it’s part of a larger conversation about gender and society — why do boys prefer building toys? Why do they perform better in math? Why are they encouraged to study engineering and science? Some of it’s self-fulfilling prophecies, but it’s also genetic. Boys and girls, like men and women, have different brains. Let’s agree to disagree.

The reason Lego never “went after girls” is probably because they’re doing just fine with the boys. Perhaps the reason they’ve been relevant for 50+ years is because they never tried to dominate every aisle of the toy stores.

Although they did produce those “Town” series for far too long — never got into those, preferred the Castles, Pirates and Space.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:37:06 +0000

Good point on the girls market and I can’t recall many of the Lego products targeted towards girls, although I’ve seen that some girls enjoy building with blocks, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, etc. Maybe they need to offer something like “My Pretty Pony” or a pet shop set or something. I’m not being sexist, but I’ve got a daughter who would show interest in something like this rather than the classic lego bricks.

I wonder if failing to appeal to girls with a product like this means that fewer young women become interested in careers such as engineering?

As a child I enjoyed Legos and wouldn’t dream of changing them, but as a parent I wish they’d round the corners on the pieces because they hurt when you step on them!

By: BuzzWoof

BuzzWoof — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:49:53 +0000

I have no figures on Lego, but have they ever made it big in girls’ products? My perception is that they never quite cracked that market. Which for a 50-year-old brand would be kind of disappointing. Or is my gut feel wrong?