Lego pulls some advertising for White House and police building sets in wake of George Floyd protests
Toy brickmaker Lego paused some advertising for building sets and products including police stations, city police vests and the White House in light of the ongoing protests following the death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
An email sent to some online companies that sell Lego sets requested that marketing for some products be stopped, according to a report by trade website The Toy Book. More than 30 products were listed in the email, dated Tuesday, which stated: "In light of recent events, Lego has requested the below products to be removed from sites and any marketing ASAP."
People have been protesting in cities across the U.S. following Floyd's death on May 25, including outside the White House.
A Lego spokesperson said the company had paused marketing on its own social media and had emailed some Lego sellers to temporarily halt the promotion of some products.
"We would like to clarify that we have not removed any sets from sale. The misunderstanding is the result of an email that was sent on our behalf to members of our affiliate marketing programme. The intent of the email was to ask that they pause promoting and marketing a selection of Lego products on their sites. We paused all marketing across our own social channels earlier this week in response to the tragic events in the U.S.," the spokesperson told CNBC by email.
