More classic LEGO commercials from the Blast from the Past Project!

Now in week 3 of our collaboration with Advance, we are happy to bring you three more commercials from the days of yore. The lineup this week features ZNAP, Pirates and DUPLO. Did any of you actually buy ZNAP? I picked up some at a second-hand store once upon a time but that was about it. Regardless of the success of the line (or lack thereof), this commercial is pretty cool. The Pirates commercial has a great classic feel to it and the DUPLO ad is simply adorable. Now I want to build a giant Noah’s Ark out of DUPLO myself.

LEGO ZNAP Virus 1998

LEGO went right up against K’nex with the new Znap system featuring bricks
that could come together in all directions. LEGO were a bit worried and were
trying to redefine the brand as a cooler and up-to-date toy.

LEGO Pirates – The Islanders 1994

We shot all of this on a built set — there’s no blue-screen or compositing. The island set was pretty big and constructed out of polystyrene and joint filler. And the water was a giant glass plate. The shot at 0.14 when the pirate lands in the small rowboat had to be shot quite a few times before he landed right!

LEGO DUPLO – Noah’s Ark 1995

We shot this in the States in 1995. The house was completely built up from scratch. To me it has a very ‘ 80´s advertising’ feel — it’s got a kind of Southern warmth about it.

2 comments on “More classic LEGO commercials from the Blast from the Past Project!

  1. Jameson

    I’ve got some Znap… I bought it on clearance at BrickFest 2000, then didn’t do anything with it until a couple years ago when I built a Vic Viper out of it. Interesting building system, but nowhere near the flexibility of K’nex. The only real bonus with Znap is it connects directly to Technic bits.

    I remember that Pirates Islanders commercial. So cool.

    That Noah’s Ark commercial seems strange to me… I thought LEGO doesn’t do religious material?

  2. Josh Post author

    @Jameson – Concerning the Noah’s Ark commercial, I have found that pretty much any statement that LEGO makes regarding what they will or will not do has to be taken with a grain of salt. They once said that they wouldn’t have distinguishing racial features on their figs. That went out the window with the basketball players. They said they wouldn’t make modern firearms. That was proven false with the first Batman sets. They even once said that purple was being discontinued and look how long that lasted. There are many other examples but the point is that they are a company and money is the bottom line…not some statement made in the past.

    However, I wouldn’t really call this commercial “religous” in nature. Yes, Noah’s Ark is from the Bible but it has become a common cultural reference as well. Just my two cents.

Comments are closed.