Friday 8 November 2013

Weekend ad break






 Lego's latest ad (above) is a sure winner for the Christmas season - it's all about father and son bonding, and features the cutest wide eyed little boy building Lego towers with his devoted Dad. It's a clever bit of marketing but I think Lego may have missed a trick. Why isn't it a Mother in the ad?

Yes, Dads sometimes get to do the fun parts of Lego building - helping put together the new Lego set they got for Christmas, for example.

But Mums, in my experience, are the ones who really know about Lego. We get to hear endless information all about the characters in Lego Chima. We have to figure out how to get two bits of Lego apart which appear to be have welded together by superglue. We have to search under the sofa for "my really important Lego guy" who's crucially gone missing five minutes before bath time. And we have to pore over instructions when it's all gone horribly wrong.

We also get to experience the joys of picking Lego up off the floor, the nagging in the supermarket when Lego minifigures are spotted at the checkout (thank you, Sainsbury's) and the sinking feeling when yet another Lego set is dimantled and goes into the big, endless pile of bricks.....

Yes, Lego, do an ad about Mothers. Because, as any Mum of little boys knows, understanding Lego is essential to raising sons.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Well said! Although as someone once said, the upside of stepping on so much lego is the aerobic exercise one gets...

Expat mum said...

Let's not forget, we're usually the ones who stand on the damn stray pieces too! Man that hurts. But yes, I am very tempted to post a photo of the shelving in my family room. Why I even bother to carefully place ornaments and photos is now beyond me because the shelves are, of course, for displaying constructed Lego.

Iota said...

Plus it's probably the mums who are doing the shopping of Christmas gifts.

What DO you do with all those Lego Star Wars space ships? We said goodbye to them when we moved across the Atlantic, but I remember them hanging around endlessly. Too fragile to actually play with (split infinitive there), but what's the point of them if you can't do so? Is the fun JUST in the building?

Iota said...

When I worked in the toy shop, interestingly, Dads didn't seem to buy Lego (unless they came with a list from Mum). They bought Erector sets, and I'm sorry, but I always had to stifle a smile when they asked me for them.

Azulada said...

and Dads get grumpy when they don't do it their way!
let the imagination flow!

nappy valley girl said...

Iota - tee hee at Erector sets...and yes, all our Lego just goes into a big pile once dismantled, but The Doctor says that is the point of Lego. I ask you, Dads....

Ladybird World Mother said...

Am total legend at lego. Have made a thousand lego models, houses, dinosaurs, ships, star wars rockets, cars, boats and ships. And have also sworn more at lego on stairs/carpet/ loo floor/in our bed (very very ouch) and under kitchen table...
We now have three enormous boxes of lego... it still comes out. Does anyone else hate that awful sound of ALL the lego being tipped on the floor??!! xx

Muddling Along said...

Tell me about it - I thought getting the girls into Lego was going to mean they'd spend hours happily creating things, instead I find myself trying to decipher the intsructions, create a 'sandpit' from the pieces we have and then to work out which bits are ok to break up and which are too precious

Metropolitan Mum said...

And to little girls! Both my girls love Lego, although we are still in the Duplo phase, as I don't want to find any more small pieces in nappies... Lego is absolutely brilliant.

nappy valley girl said...

Met Mum, Muddling - sorry, should have said children! Yes I know girls love Lego too.

Elsie Button said...

Brilliant, well said! We are huge lego fans in this house too - it is the best thing ever invented, ever!

I reckon the ad should show a mother and daughter - just to really mix things up ;) xxx