Pure Genius in Marketing: Star Wars Lego! The World's Most Popular Boys Toy? The Best Educational Toy Ever Made?

UPDATE DIRECT FROM LEGO AT BOTTOM!


I think it is pretty safe to say that judging from my son, and all of his friends, as well as what I've seen from older boys (and adults) that Lego is most definitely the most popular boys toy in the world. 

Lego Imperial Star Destroyer

May I also venture to say that, what Apple computers are for adult men over 25, Lego is to the 4-years-old boys to 16-years-old market for young men. Lego is, perhaps, one of the greatest toys ever made. Lego is a hands-on solutions for science, mathematics, spatial concepts, designing and 3D skills (there's probably more that I'm not seeing). Through Lego, kids learn to combine logic with reasoning and eye hand coordination. They get to transform, explore and combine ideas and objects. Not only that! The kids get to use their imaginations after the toy is constructed and deconstructed (which they all inevitably seem to be at my house) into brand new objects that are conceived of whatever my son wants and imagines them to be! 


I am convinced that Lego is pure genius and probably one of the greatest toys ever made! I think Star Wars Lego is the greatest boys toy ever made bar none! Why I say that is because my son and his friends have been Star Wars Lego crazy since he was four years old. Lego sets start at 4 years old and up. Currently, my son is eight but he is now working on a Lego Star Wars set that was designed for sixteen-years-old and up. 


Ah! Say "Star Wars" and what child between 4 and 40 doesn't light up with extreme interest immediately? Say "puzzle" or "3D puzzle" and you'll get yawns and a distinct lack of enthusiasm from the recipient, but say "Star Wars" or "Star Wars Lego" and you'll have your kid all over it and jumping up and down saying, "Daddy I want one!"

Buy these when they first come out and they are $200 ~ $300. Later they become collectors items like this... This is no longer a child's toy. I bought this one for my son new when it was $180 (about).

Find me one other educational toy that invokes such a strong desire and reaction out of the average child and you'll be showing be another genius invention. I can't think of any, can you?


Some people will say that Lego is "So expensive" but I don't think so. If you consider Lego just a toy, then maybe it is expensive. But Lego is not just a toy. Lego is a toy, a learning experience, a science tool, a babysitter, a world of imagination all it's own and much more. A Lego toy is played with for months if not years after it is first taken from the box and assembled! 


Lego is not expensive at all when you consider all that you get for your money.


I especially enjoy the fact that my child can learn at his own speed. If he is five and is ready for the Lego designed for 7 years old boys, have at it. If he is 7 and can do the 12 years old and up, then take the challenge! Why not? He is learning as he is having fun!


Learning and having fun while doing so is the key to the perfect education.


For the more advanced Star Wars Lego sets, there's no way that a child (along with dad, who needs to spend more time with son, by the way... Ahem) can put one of these things together in one sitting. The current model my son and I are working on is a Lego Star Wars Imperial Shuttle. It is for 16 years old and up. It has 2503 pieces so, knowing that, you'd know that it will take quite a while to construct this toy.


It is taking all the resources the empire can muster to put this shuttle together in time to be ready for battle!


I always try to work together with my son when he is constructing his Lego sets. As I mentioned, it is a great time (and future memory) together. He does all the assembling and I help with pushing in difficult or extremely tight fitting pieces (and refrain from doing so unless absolutely necessary - I want him to have strong hands). He assembles and I sit and find pieces for him (mom helps when were stuck). We chat about various things while doing so. It's a great way to spend time together.

We've been working on this one for two weeks at about 30 minutes a day. Very cheap entertainment for father and son (especially when raining or dark outside). Quality and fun time together.

We usually block off 30 ~ 40 minutes at once to work on the kit. So far, we've been working on this one model on and off for nearly two weeks and we're not even half way done so you can see that this is a great way to spend time learning with your child and having fun while doing it.


Another amazing thing I have to point out to everyone about the value of Lego is the customer service is great. Over these last four and one half years, my son has constructed every single Lego Star Wars that was made. I think that must be easily 40 or 50 different models. Many of those models have had over 1,000 pieces. It doesn't happen often, but, there have been times when pieces were missing...


Now, usually when something like pieces missing happens, it's a major headache; find the receipt, take the toy back, wait in line, hassle with details, ... Not with Lego! With Lego, you go online to their Lego customer service page for Replacement Parts and order the parts you need. They then send them to you in three weeks for FREE! Now that is killer customer service!


Out of well over 50 Lego sets that my son has assembled over these few years, we've discovered missing parts only three times. Three times I ordered the pieces and got them delivered to my home with no hassles and No Questions Asked! They didn't ask where I purchased the toy, where my receipt was, or any intrusive questions! They just shipped me what I needed! They even ship them to Japan, where many of the models are not sold, with free shipping too! (I buy the models overseas as many are not available in Japan and bring them back!) 


Wasn't I saying something about, what Apple computers are for adult men over 25, Lego is to the 4-years-old to 16-years-old market for boys and young men. 


Lego's service might even be better than Apple's and that is hard to do!


Like I said, I think Lego is a genius toy and probably one of, if not the, greatest boys toy ever invented.


(Disclaimer: No I do not own Lego company shares nor do I have any plan to. If there are any complaints about Lego, then may I say that I wish they'd license all the Star Wars Lego's for the territory of Japan also so that I may order them directly in Japan? I always have to order in the USA and then sent to my family then to be sent to me! I sure hate bothering the folks.... Or, how about this; "Hey Japanese toy manufacturer! License these products for Japan!")

Lego Star Wars Motorized Walking AT-AT

If you can still find this Lego Star Wars Imperial Walker buy it. This is, I think, the best one at the best price so far. I bought it at $170 new (now sells for $199) and had about 1100 pieces as well as a motorized engine that made it walk. It was wonderful for my son to see how and engine works and turns gears. He built it a year ago and still plays with it!

-----


UPDATE: 


Just to show what a fine and quality company Lego is, they found this article written about them (smart companies are checking the Internet t see what people are saying about them!):


Dear Mike,

I really enjoyed your article and I must say your son's LEGO Star Wars collection is rather impressive! I'm glad you've been so content with our customer service and I must say I really liked this phrase:

"Lego's service might even be better than Apple's and that is hard to do!"- very nice compliment, thanks a lot!

I hope you will continue your LEGO Star Wars collection for years because no one is too old for LEGO sets!

Best wishes,

Malgorzata Napierala
LEGO Direct


---------


For the history of Lego see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego   

Kids Say the Darndest Things

It's a cold Saturday morning in Tokyo and my 8-year old is doing his homework. Sometimes he asks for my help and we look at the questions together.


Like Art Linkletter said, "Sometimes kids say the darndest things!"

There is a True and False section of the homework that my son is doing right now that has to do with Science, specifically Paleontology.

I look at the question. It is about humans and dinosaurs and the time line of their existence on this earth.

The question said, 

"Answer True or False:

'Humans and dinosaurs lived during the same time.'"

I think most adults would just assume that the question means something "did they live together millions of years ago." But my son made me laugh when he read the question out loud. 

He said,

"Humans and dinosaurs lived during the same time!? Duh! No. Do you see any dinosaurs around?"

I said, "No, son. I think they mean a long time ago."

My son retorted,

"No, dad. They don't say "when." They could be talking about yesterday. They just asked if humans and dinosaurs lived together, that's all. I've never seen any dinosaurs around. Have you?"

I chuckled. He had me there.

"Nope. You're right." I answered.

Kids certainly do say the darndest things.  

Doing and Playing are Two Very Different Things

"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda

I know way too many people who play all the time. Of course, like anyone else, I like playing too. But there comes a time when we must all "do" and not "play."


I suppose, in this example, my use of the word, "play" could also be used interchangeably with "pose." There are far too many poseurs around.

People think they understand the difference between "do" and "play." But allow me to explain the big difference here.

I learned a great lesson about not "playing" when I was a student. In High School, I was president of the Science Club. I don't really remember how I got that title, it's just that a Biology teacher thought my grades were good enough and the other geeks decided that they'd vote me in as president.


Being president of the Science Club was sort of fun, I guess.


As president of the Science Club, I was King Geek. In Science classes and Biology, I didn't have to attend classes like the other kids did. I was the guy who assisted the Science instructor with handing out Petri dishes and feeding the pets in the Science Department.


I also learned that the cutest girls in my school were basically stupid in Biology so they were nice to me so that I would tell them the answers to test questions. I thought that this would translate to me being popular outside of Science class but I was totally wrong on that front.


While the classes were going on, I'd get to sit in the back room and do "experiments." Mr. Holts, my biology instructor allowed me to do any sort of experiments that I wanted to. I grew plants, did experiments with bacteria and learned all sorts of things about feeding and breeding animals and fish.


I learned stuff like most lizards won't eat food when they are in captivity so you have to force feed them. I also learned that mice are so freaked out by snakes that if you put a mouse in a snakes cage or terrarium, often times the mouse will freeze up and just sit there in fear.


Well, back to the difference between "do" and "play"....


One day, I was bored out of my wits as I sat in the back room at the Science department. There, I spied a cockroach and some silverfish. I captured them as I intended to use them for lizard or fish food... As I was searching for a container to put them in, I spotted a large glass beaker and, to my surprise, a bottle of Hydrochloric acid.

That gave me an idea... The devil horns slowly creeped up on the sides of my head.


I put the insects in the large beaker and saw that they could not climb up the sides. They were trapped. I then pulled up a chair and took an eyedropper and squeezed out a drop of acid and dropped it into the beaker.


The cockroaches and silverfish would run as mightily as they could towards the top of the beaker trying to get out. But run as hard as they may, they would give up and slowly slide back down the sides of the glass until their tails hit the acid at which time they'd take off again, full speed, up the sides of the glass.


They did this over and over. 

To make a lame o excuse for my deliberately torturing some of god's creatures, I found it interesting how and why the insects seemed to run as hard as they could up the glass but then "get tired," give up and slide back down. I mean, insects don't have muscles! How can they get tired.


Well, as a twisted little high school brat (and president of the Science Club) I got my jollies torturing these insects (I was probably laughing like a mad scientist too) when a big hand slapped right down on my shoulder. It was Mr. Holts. He said to me,


"Mister Rogers! You have so much talent and ability but you waste it. Do you know what your problem is? Your problem is that you don't want to "do" science; you want to "play" science. There is a big difference."


He was right. I have never forgotten that moment. 

I think about that and I can see his face whenever I see people doing crappy work. Or people whose primary concern at work (mostly middle management people) having the protection of their position as the number one priority over the success of the project. I can also hear his words whenever I feel that I am not doing my best and letting other people down.


Life is too short for us to waste it on dead end efforts. In my thinking, there is no such thing as a dead-end job. A job is a dead-end if you make it that way. If you view it as a opportunity, then how can it be a dead-end if you use it to motivate yourself for bigger and better things? 


Never sell yourself short.


Remember to always do and not play.