Facing bankruptcy in 2003, the Danish toymaker finally learned to love its adult fans.
When executives at toymaker Lego first learned that adults were buying large quantities of their interlocking plastic bricks and getting together to build Lego creations of their own, “they thought it was very strange,” says Paal Smith-Meyer.
“Before the late 1990s, the company didn’t think their adult fans had value,” says Smith-Meyer, who held a variety of senior posts at Lego from 2000 to 2014. “Leadership actually thought [adults] were detracting from the brand.”
Thanks to a handful of employees who worked to change attitudes inside the company, Lego is no longer embarrassed by its adult fans. Gone are the days when labels on Lego boxes stated that the contents were appropriate only for boys ages 7 to 12. The bygone slogans