Lego brand ambassador and television presenter, Ben Fogle, has criticised the Danish toymaker, accusing Lego of "ruining the world."
Fogle, 42, who previously starred in a campaign for Lego City, made the comments as part of an address to 200 private school teachers at the Boarding School Association conference in Manchester.
According to the Mirror, the father of two and former boarder, argued, "Where once Lego offered a whimsical form of escapism into the world of subconscious, encouraging creativity and imagination, it has transformed into a rigid box-ticking discipline where children are encouraged to build by conformity."
Fogle highlighted the difference between his childhood experience of Lego and the way the toy is currently marketed. "When I was a child, Lego came in brick form. You would buy boxes of random bricks and you would use your imagination to build your mind. Today, Lego sells most of its bricks in kit form. Big, and dare I say, expensive boxes with intricate instructions."
Fogle criticised the kits for "creating boundaries, limits and prescriptions," further noting that, "they have cheated youngsters, and their parents, out of any chance to be truly creative."
"If I were to write a thesis on this topic," he continued, "I think I would call it "How Lego ruined the world." Fogle, who was Lego's first celebrity brand ambassador, described that he'd watched his son 'fall apart" when his attempt didn't match "the picture in the box."
"One misaligned or one tiny lost component can spell disaster," he said.
Fogle later took to Twitter to clarify his remarks. "For the record. I love @LEGO_Group. It's brilliant. I just wish there were more bricks and less kits," he tweeted to his 132,000 followers.
For the record. I love @LEGO_Group . It's brilliant. I just wish there were more bricks and less kits.
— Ben Fogle (@Benfogle) May 4, 2016
When other users pointed out that it is possible to purchase boxes of Lego without instructions, Fogle wrote, "of course you can but a little like selling sweets at the checkout counter of supermarkets the Lego shops are 90% kits."
Not following instructions, being creative and using your imagination was, in fact, one of the key themes of the 2014 smash-hit film, The Lego Movie.
As the mother of a four-year-old master builder I couldn't disagree more with Fogle's remarks. And I don't think I'm alone. Sure, my son likes building the kits. He enjoys the process of finding the correct piece and putting it in the "right" place, according to the instructions.
And the ability to sit still, to concentrate and attend to a particular activity (that isn't screen-related) is a skill I'm more than certainly happy to foster.
But boy-oh-boy, after all that effort, does he love pulling the bricks apart, too. And more often than not, it's a mere 48 hours later when he wants the pieces for his own creations.
Just recently, I found his favourite Ninja, customised of course, sitting around a table drinking coffee. Evidently, Ninjas need their caffeine fixes too.
And you can't get that from a box.
Do your kids prefer going off-script when it comes to Lego? Share their Lego creations below!
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