The Secret World of Lego
Daniel Dare
Posts: 3,503 Forum Member
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Looks to be an interesting documentary on Channel 4 at the start of next week, The Secret World of Lego, 8pm.
info:
'Last year Lego became the most profitable toy maker in the world. Now this notoriously secretive, privately-owned superbrand has opened its doors. We discover what makes it tick, meet some of its key people and reveal more about the company DNA than ever before.
In The Secret World of Lego, we follow Justin, a 23 year old design student, as he travels to LEGO headquarters in Denmark in pursuit of one of the most hotly contested jobs in the world – a Lego set designer. We meet Liverpudlian Matthew, who undertook the same process and has now risen to become a Vice President of Design. We follow Mark and Tom, two adult fans of Lego, as they try two different money-making schemes they hope will transform their love of the brick into hard cash. And there’s Roar, the LEGO “reputation manager”, who guides us through this secret world - until we get a little too close for comfort.
Not your usual Channel 4 choice of topic, but that last bit of sentence sounds quite telling, so probably it'll have some C4 traits where things are not always what they seem? Skeletons in the cupboard? Scientology?
I adored Lego growing up, I must've had at least a dozen to fifteen shoe boxes full to the brim with it, all sorted and labelled but as with many toys I gave most of it away to church jumble sales. Even as a kid I couldn't stand the little people though, I just thought them silly next to my constructions. Yet I also had the Playmobil Castle with all the little knights and armies and loved them
It beats me how popular the Lego little people have become, it seems to me that they've actually surpassed the interest of the building brick, which in my eyes is not a good thing for young and budding engineer.
info:
'Last year Lego became the most profitable toy maker in the world. Now this notoriously secretive, privately-owned superbrand has opened its doors. We discover what makes it tick, meet some of its key people and reveal more about the company DNA than ever before.
In The Secret World of Lego, we follow Justin, a 23 year old design student, as he travels to LEGO headquarters in Denmark in pursuit of one of the most hotly contested jobs in the world – a Lego set designer. We meet Liverpudlian Matthew, who undertook the same process and has now risen to become a Vice President of Design. We follow Mark and Tom, two adult fans of Lego, as they try two different money-making schemes they hope will transform their love of the brick into hard cash. And there’s Roar, the LEGO “reputation manager”, who guides us through this secret world - until we get a little too close for comfort.
Not your usual Channel 4 choice of topic, but that last bit of sentence sounds quite telling, so probably it'll have some C4 traits where things are not always what they seem? Skeletons in the cupboard? Scientology?
I adored Lego growing up, I must've had at least a dozen to fifteen shoe boxes full to the brim with it, all sorted and labelled but as with many toys I gave most of it away to church jumble sales. Even as a kid I couldn't stand the little people though, I just thought them silly next to my constructions. Yet I also had the Playmobil Castle with all the little knights and armies and loved them
It beats me how popular the Lego little people have become, it seems to me that they've actually surpassed the interest of the building brick, which in my eyes is not a good thing for young and budding engineer.
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Comments
Lego is educational, for any kid with an engineering bent.
One of our kids spent hours playing with it.
He became a consultant engineer, traveling the world.
I am sure they will find some angle on it - not enough homosexual / disabled / IC3 / Muslim / etc figures perhaps?
Sounds dreadful.
A bit of unashamed bandwagon jumping by C4.
Lego being the new Rock n Roll [ this week ] , rather than it being the cheapo choice of toy designed for kids too dim and cack-handed to work in the superior idiom of Meccano. :cool:
Interesting that they revealed that the staff where faking a meeting just for the cameras.
Some oddness with the Lego employees re-eancting a meeting they'd already had for Ch4 so they weren't giving away any recent 'secrets'
No more 'black market' food in Lego either, 'sounds' like someone was bringing in sugary foods for resale.
The chappy and his wife doing the 3000 piece build, I'd have thought building it was part of the 'fun' rattling through it in one sitting seems wrong to me, savour and enjoy.
Oh what a coincidence, they rang him up to offer him a job just as the cameras visited.
Initially it smacked of corporate fakeness controlled by Lego PR. Then it became apparent the documentary makers where trying to subtley expose the controlling aspects of Lego.
I've actually seen a good show about Lego once , I think it was on Discovery Channel a few years back. It took you into the factories and gave the company history.
Ends with "I could show you but I'd have to kill you first"
I don't think Lego will be opening their doors again anytime soon.
Many companies try hot desking but it never works in reality as people like to sit in the same place each day, close to people they work with and where everyone can find you.
Meccano was and still is a vastly superior building toy.
I had the complete Meccano Combat collection and the Space 2150 collection :cool:
And ....
it was basically advert for Lego without them actually saying anything because it was all hush hush
I think despite the friendly offices etc they are probably as ruthless as any other company. The guy who was there 'reputation representative ' or whatever struck me as a sort of minder. I love lego, always have but I have no illusions they are any different from any other privately owned company.
Disney, Starbucks, Ben and Jerry's - all ruthless but loved. I don't imagine lego is any different.
^^^This. All these 'hippy-dippy, Californication-types' such as Virgin, Apple and, as I am finding, ecotricity love to portray their tree-hugging side but are as ruthless as any mega-corp if not more.
Nicknamed Mauschwitz by the staffers. They squeeze a dollar until the Eagle on it squawks.
Well, of course they are. You don't get to be a multi-billion dollar global corporation without being ruthless when dealing with staff, suppliers and their competition. If you want to be a hippy tree hugger then join your local vegan commune. Apple and Virgin are just as interested in making money as the banks and tobacco companies - they are just better at portraying a cool image.
+1
Maybe we could submit a Meccano-theme Lego set to them?
You are C.J. and I claim my £5!