Cast your mind back to 2019, and you might remember the launch of the LEGO Group’s first ‘Rebuild the World’ advertisement: a somewhat surreal epic in which a hunter seeks out a rabbit, in a world surrounded by references to LEGO themes, past and present. While the actual premise of Rebuild the World may sometimes feel vague, this year the campaign focuses on children being the masters of creative problem solving.
Scroll down to see the new campaign movie, where a knight is trying to cross the river, to catch up with his friend, the bear. As the ad progresses, the townsfolk set out to help our knight to cross the river, as we see many representatives from different LEGO themes, including collectable minifigures, space ( a green spaceman? Where is the rest of the LEGO Ideas Exosuit?) and more. Ultimately the problem is solved, but not before the children building the bridge and playing with their LEGO Bricks are revealed. While the target audience is going to be parents, and their children, there are plenty of references that an AFOL will appreciate.
One of these references the appearance of a goat at the 41 second mark. As a life guard brings a goat to contribute to constructing the bridge, he is told by a pirate that the goat is not welcome, and must be taken away.
I am trying to work out exactly what is intended by this goat. To bring you up to speed… there was a Goat released in one LEGO Castle set (7189 Mill village Raid) ten years ago. The story goes that the mold broke, and was a never used again. As such, the goat has appreciated on reseller market place Brick Link. With the minimum price for a used LEGO Goat currently skirting around $USD70/$AUD96, there have been repeated calls for goats to make a reappearance. After the new sheep mould appearing in the Disney Farm set earlier this year, we can only dream of a new goat reaching the shelves in the new year.
However, was the refusal of the goat’s admission onto the bridge a sign that goats are not welcome at all, an acknowledgement that goats should not be played with, due to their extreme resale value or merely a nod and a wink to say that goats will be available sometime soon? Or ‘We just dont want to hear about goats any more.’ Past experiences with LEGO Marketing and designers makes me think that the answer is probably a quiet smile and a wink, but no definite information.
That said, an actual goat element did feature in the video, in the children’s playroom.
This is not the first time that the LEGO Group have teases fans with goats in the last couple of years. On the cover, and interior of LEGO Life Magazine 2020:3, we are teased by images of goats on the cover, as well as inside the magazine… but with no real suggestion that they are coming back.
The LEGO Group has launched a playful new iteration to its global Rebuild the World brand campaign. Now in its third year, the 2021 Rebuild the World campaign celebrates children as the masters of creative problem solving and shows what can be achieved when people work together to overcome differences or challenges.
The main film is centered on the story of a Knight whose attempts to cross a river to see a friendly bear keep failing. Seeing the Knight’s dilemma, a whole town comes together and pools their varied skills, perspectives and talents to find a way to reunite the friends. As the Knight finally conquers the river crossing, the film playfully reveals how the story and the solution to the challenge have been imaginatively conceived by a group of children building, unbuilding and rebuilding through LEGO® play.
The LEGO System in Play has long been the ultimate platform for creative problem solving. Just as the children in this campaign come together to build and test different solutions, with LEGO play children can build anything they can imagine, trial it, work out how to improve it and rebuild it. The process helps children develop life-long skills such as creative problem-solving, communication and resilience that many parents see as being key to helping their child be successful in the future[1].
The playful film is accompanied by a number of humorous visual stories that depict the endless ways LEGO® bricks can be used to overcome barriers and reunite old friends. One of the fantasy visuals shows a hippo looking longingly at bird flying in the sky, before the problem is solved; the hippo is given LEGO wings and joins them. Another features a pig who wants to see eye to eye with a giraffe – a dilemma that’s easily fixed by adding some bricks to increase its height.
Julia Goldin, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, the LEGO Group, said: “We remain in awe of the creativity, optimism and resilience that children show every day – and how, through play, they can develop the essential life skills not only to imagine, but to create, a brighter future. The Rebuild the World campaign is a celebration of this and provides a showcase for the inspiration that we can all get from coming together and collaborating creatively to overcome challenges.”
The campaign was created by the LEGO Group’s internal creative agency, the LEGO Agency. The fully integrated global campaign will run across a variety of channels including TV, digital, Spotify, out of home, e-commerce channels and in LEGO stores in over 20 countries. It will also be supported by a global creator campaign, as well as a series of activations and events in markets where the LEGO Group has a presence.
To find out more about the LEGO Group’s Rebuild the World campaign, visit: LEGO.com/Rebuild-the-World
[1] According to the LEGO Play Well Study 2020, the top 5 skills that parents feel are most important to their child’s future success and wellbeing are confidence, resilience, communication, problem-solving and decision making.
Rebuild the world encourages us to take a look at the world around us, and use our LEGO Bricks put it back together in new and creative ways. The new trailer is full of nostalgic easter eggs from start to finish. What do you think of the message behind ’rebuild the world’? What about the goats? Will we see them again, or is the LEGO Group just teasing us? Why not leave your comments below, and until next time,
Play Well!
