For this month’s Home Skooled, adHOME looked at the documentary The Secret World of Lego. The documentary—which is currently a controversial issue since Lego feels it is portrayed too much like a cult—delves into the top secret world of Lego, where shutters are closed and doors are locked so that any of the new toy manufacturers ideas and plans have no way of escaping.
But this documentary got the first look into the less secret side of things—including a reenactment of an old meeting that was had, so as not to give away anything happening in the newer meetings.
The documentary follows the journey of a young man who seeks the coveted position of Lego set designer. The job would entail designing the toy sets, such as spaceship or pirate sets that have building instructions and Lego men and women to go with them.
The documentary also discussed the company culture at Lego. The miniature building blogs were available everywhere in the buildings, for all workers. Logos and artwork were built completely with Legos and even just everyday Lego sets were on display.
One part of the documentary that got a lot of attention (read: laughs) in the room, was the section that focused on AFOLs or Adult Fans Of Lego. One man built an entire Lego set in one night, every week, no matter how long it took him (for the Avengers drop ship, he was up past 1am) and another man made his own designs at home of natural birds in an effort to add more natural shapes and sets to the Lego world. His bird set got picked up by Lego themselves.
Lego has been referred to as one of the most powerful brands in the world and it is the most profitable toy brand in the world. Big brands can set the trend for an entire industry with just one move, and getting a peek at what they’re doing—from their secrecy to their callback to nature—can give us insights into this huge brand and how they have achieved ubiquity in the world as the biggest toy brand.