When Lego announced its controversial Friends range earlier this year, this 1970s Lego advertisement went viral. It featured a young girl in jeans and a blue t-shirt proudly displaying her free-form lego construction. Who knew girls could play with blocks that weren’t pink?!
With all the Lego activity that’s been happening in our home, we stumbled upon this extraordinary website for spare parts called Brick Link. It’s an unofficial Lego marketplace, or as I like to think of it…eBay for Lego. On this website you can purchase just about anything relating to Lego including rare missing parts and old Lego kits from as early as the 1960s.
Some of the old Lego imagery is beautiful in its simplicity. Here’s a selection of my favourites, alongside their contemporary counterparts.
Lego House: 1970 and 2011
Lego Police Headquarters: 1976 and 2011
Lego Fire Station: 1970 and 2011
Lego Truck: 1967 and 2010
Someone could write a thesis on how Lego reflects changing trends in our society.
Though I think I’d rather build it.
Wow. As both my children are under 2, we’re yet to go lego crazy. So I’ve missed all the talk about lego friends (had to google) and I’m completely astounded at how complex it has got. Fascinating. I wonder if someone is already writing that thesis.
Funny how lego is now considered a boys toy, my two sisters and I played with it very happily as kids, without it being pink or involving a café. (Although I’m pretty sure we made houses for our barbie dolls!)
I come from a family of 6 children (with 3 brothers) so Lego was a big part of my childhood! We played mostly creative or ‘free form’ so I love making up the kits with my son now. I agree it’s strange that toys are becoming more and more gendered. I hope my daughter plays with it just as much as my son. I’ve also added in a link to the Friends range in the post.
Legos were the only “toys” I remember having as a kid. My parents preferred to give me books and the like. (Sigh) Gosh, how I miss Legos….
Only Legos for toys?! Though if you had to narrow it down to two things, then books and Lego would probably be it. My husband and I have become quite nostalgic and ordered a few of the vintage Lego items online…for our son of course 😉
I loved legos growing up – and my girls have buckets of them now, too. They love building barns and stables, and the occasional house for their barbies.
Such a versatile toy…and I remember Barbie featuring in my Lego play too.
I do prefer the 70s Lego ads with the boys and girls in rumply denim both holding up their lego planes or blobby lego shapes over the lavender lego hair salons of today. But I agree, much more fun to play with lego than theorise it.
I love those rumply jeans too! I wonder why they don’t make ads like that anymore.
Is that a solar panel? Damn lego house is better than mine… Pink lego: insanity, but for background, Mark Dapin wrote a fascinating (yes lego history IS fascinating!) feature on Lego a while ago:
http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac;jsessionid=4674D326CE0F7BD3AF2350CBCCA0FBD6?sy=afr&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=1month&so=relevance&sf=text&sf=headline&rc=10&rm=200&sp=brs&cls=18961&clsPage=1&docID=SMH1112102I14V4G9T9G
Thanks for the fabulous link. I’d love to visit Legoland in Billund. My husband remembers receiving a postcard from his grandmother when she visited shortly after it opened.
Wow, how things have changed! I was lucky and inherited my uncles lego, it would have been the original stuff. I added to it, and in a few years I’ll crack it out for the girls… It’s going to be exceptional by the time they hand it on to their kids!
What an awesome uncle! I think vintage Lego’s the best, and it’s worth a small fortune. Your girls will be in for a treat.
I loved Lego. Still do. Much prefer the ordinary bricks, none of that fancy pink already shaped like a chair stuff they do now. Build it yourself and use your imagination to see the chair. Thats what I say. 🙂
I agree with you, the Friends range takes the imagination out of Lego.
On a side note, Oh My! The 1970s House! Love.
My husband started re-collecting Lego almost as soon as I announced I was pregnant! Baxter is already the owner of Lego Bakery, Ye Olde Toyshop and Bakery. (not that we let him play with it yet, it’s strictly daddy only!) I loved Lego as a kid and I’m sure my brother had that Police set! X
I love this post! So fun seeing all the old ads for Lego, thanks so much! And thanks for visiting over at my blog, your comment was appreciated. 🙂 I love the 1970s ad with the little girl playing lego. What a cutie pie. That being said… I find the controversy over the Friends series a little silly… the truth is that some little girls do like lots of pink and flowery stuff. my little girl doesnt happen to be one of those girls, but lots of girls do. Lego is just doing what all companies do, and put more options on the market to attract more buyers. Not a big deal In my opinion. 🙂