‘We ought to stress the good in law enforcement for kids…’
(Joshua Paladino, Liberty Headlines) The LEGO Group told a marketing company to suspend advertising during last week’s #BlackOutTuesday for more than 30 building sets, minifigures, and accessories that are related to police officers and firefighters.
The LEGO Affilitate Team, which manages online advertising, sent an email to Rakuten Linkshare with the names of the product listings that the company wants removed, Toybook reported.
A statement from a LEGO spokesperson indicates that advertising for these products will resume.
“We requested that our affiliate partners refrain from posting promotional LEGO content as part of our decision to respect #BlackOutTuesday and pause posting content on our social media channels in response to the tragic events in the US,” the spokesperon said.
“We regret any misunderstanding and will ensure that we are clearer about our intentions in the future,” said the statement.
LEGO embraced the Black Lives Matter movement and promised to educate children about “racial equality” in a tweet.
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) June 3, 2020
President Donald Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted about LEGO’s decision, but he did not know that the advertising freeze was temporary.
This is nuts.@LEGO_Group is removing playsets featuring police, firefighters & emergency vehicles.
Even ditching an adult White House kit.
We ought to stress the good in law enforcement for kids.
What does @JoeBiden think about LEGO erasing cops?https://t.co/NMzHHe6qyI
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) June 4, 2020
Twitter user @BrickLoftOrg questioned LEGO’s decision.
Hey @LEGO_Group can you elaborate? Is it #BlackOutTuesday ? We all firmly believe #BlackLivesMattter . For decades #LEGO police & fire rescue have been the very best example how to protect and rescue fellow minifigs and kids playing. What kind of message are you making here?? pic.twitter.com/ZoLg2HlJTj
— Brick Loft (@BrickLoftOrg) June 2, 2020