Miscellaneous Archives | Page 15 of 117

LEGO and IBM Teams Up for AI-Powered Interactive Advertising

If you thought the recent collaboration between LEGO and China’s Tencent Games to launch a new mobile title was pretty much already out there, then perhaps you haven’t seen everything yet. It’s amazing just how much brand power LEGO can wield when your next collaboration involves using AI for advertising. To this end, LEGO and IBM teams up to boost the former’s advertising to a whole new, interactive level utilizing IBM’s Watson Ads Omni. To get technical, these ads use “hyper-personalization at scale along with actionable insights”.

What that means is the new LEGO ads can actually sell particular sets to fans currently browsing on their sites, particularly Shop@Home. They can “talk” to the AI, perhaps via typed-in text. The AI will ask them questions on what LEGO sets they’d like, then make a list of recommendations.

IBM’s press release on the work they’ve done with LEGO claims that the AI-powered ads are “empowering the brand to have meaningful one-to-one conversations at scale with consumers wherever they may be in their path to purchase”. At the least, they can smartly recommend from 35 possible best-selling sets available. Its like having a virtual LEGO Brick Specialist assisting you.

“We’re always looking for innovative ways to cut through the clutter and provide meaningful brand interactions for shoppers,” remarks LEGO Systems Senior Director (brand relations) Michael McNally. This LEGO and IBM team up is not just expected to increase LEGO’s profit margin, but most importantly, will provide a better, “personalized” experience for online shoppers once the holiday season shopping spree kicks in.

When these smart AI-powered advertisements will be online, however, wasn’t quite answered yet. We just have to wait and see, and keep tabs with LEGO Shop@Home.

Source: MediaPost

Life-sized LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo Featured at WeatherTech Raceway

Ever since LEGO made the impossible possible by recreating the Bugatti Chiron into a life-sized brick construct with working Power Functions engine, the concept of a large LEGO car as an attraction for special events has become popular. That would explain why a life-sized LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo was found at the WeatherTech Raceway recently.

The racecourse, located at Laguna Seca in California, played host to a special event by Porsche on Friday, September 28, called “Champions in Racing”. That was where they unveiled the limited-production new-age Porsche 935. But another car that drew looks wasn’t even a real vehicle.

Part of Porsche’s display in partnership with LEGO is a nearly life-sized LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo, part of a dual-set with the 911 RSR (with set number 75888). Unlike the aforementioned Bugatti Chiron model, made of the same kind of LEGO Technic pieces as the official set (42083) but more, the 911 Turbo was not only immobile but not even made of actual LEGO bricks.

In addition to the Speed Champions upsized Porsche being made available for photo-ops, LEGO also included a LEGO build zone, where kids could construct to their hearts’ content while the grownups watched the race on the WeatherTech Raceway with the actual new-age Porsche 935 participating.

Just to make things clear, the 935 that raced at WeatherTech Laguna Seca was based more on the Porsche 911 GT2 RS. Only 77 units of this 935 were produced and all will be going to the carmaker’s VIP customers.

Cutter Blade Found in Sainsbury’s LEGO Create the World Card Foil Pack

Late last August, UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s revived one of its promotional partnerships with LEGO, the Create the World collectible card series. A new set of LEGO trading cards were introduced to put together in a new volume called “Incredible Inventions”. But a recent event threatens to put a damper on the LEGO collecting fun. Much like its previous edition, collecting the new LEGO cards consists of buying a minimum £10 shopping tag at a Sainsbury’s store to receive a 4-card foil pack. In Kent however, a mother returning from her local Sainsbury’s to discover a cutter blade in a LEGO card foil pack she brought home for her child.

“It didn’t look like it had been tampered with so when I got home I just put the card packs on the table,” recalls Kirsty Thorne to the BBC. “They were all playing at the table going through the cards and that’s when my son brought it to my attention.”

From her own examination the blade, a refill for a snap-off utility cutter blade, was simply placed in the pack with the four cards before sealing, possibly an industrial error. The fact that the blade was small enough to fit the pack meant it was not detected until somebody bought it.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s noted that the chain is aware of the cutter blade slipped into a LEGO Create the World card pack and are bringing the matter up with their supplier, though the consensus is that it was an isolated accident. Still, the Sainsbury’s store that Mrs. Thorne shopped from to get the card pack has returned her £10 shopping payment by way of apology.

The mother herself is simply relieved that nothing much worse happened, especially considering that her son had opened the foil pack with his teeth, risking injury from the included blade.

Bikes to Billund Charity Ride Now Completed

It began with a team of cyclists last week who set out to do something, not because it was easy but because it would be hard. Technically the real origin was with a fundraising drive initiated by the UK’s Fairy Bricks charity, though the real meat was the bike race spectacle and ordeal, from London to LEGO House in Billund, Denmark. The Bikes to Billund charity ride spearheaded by Brickset and Fairy Bricks started last Friday, braving the windstorm season to cross the sea and continue the trip along the European mainland towards Billund, Denmark. They finally arrived at their destination on Thursday, September 27.

Following a journey of 975 kilometers, the six-man charity bike team would be pleased enough to arrive at their destination without incident and on time. But more than that, they were welcomed at LEGO House by the big boss of LEGO, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen himself, who graciously posed with the team for a commemorative photo marking the occasion.

With their task completed, the Bikes to Billund cyclists will be staying awhile to participate in the slate of various LEGO fan activities in the country, such as Skærbæk Fan Weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

In the meantime, the Fairy Bricks fundraising page for Bikes to Billund remains active, clocking now at about 33% of the charity’s goal. It won’t close until December, so generous LEGO fans who enjoyed following the whole Bikes to Billund experience can still donate now. Those who did donate during the duration of the ride now stand a chance to win several copies of Daenerys, the Fairy Bricks charity van.

LEGO Forma Series Recalls an Earlier Concept from Japan’s LEGO MUJI

As this last week of September draws to a close, The LEGO Group has sprung a surprise from out of nowhere with the announcement of LEGO Forma, a new line of hybrid material construction sets featuring slim Technic-like internal framework with foil outer “skins”, a pilot project on crowd-sourcing service Indiegogo.

While the LEGO fandom is oohing over the initial batch of aquatic-themed LEGO Forma sets, our fellow news source Brick Fanatics has hit upon a discovery from the past, a short-lived and long-discontinued LEGO product line that seems to be an earlier take on the combined-material gimmick of Forma.

Its name was LEGO MUJI, a regional product line that was primarily introduced by LEGO Japan into its local market back in 2009. The premise is somewhat the same – LEGO constructs “dressed up” in sheet coverings – but the inner workings are regular LEGO pieces and the coverings are made of paper.

A LEGO MUJI set typically comprises bricks, tiles and regular elements to build into various shapes, and a booklet of paper patterns and decals to cut out and punch holes into, to then put on the brick builds. Blank construction papers are also included to encourage builders to make paper coverings of their own design.

By comparison, LEGO Forma looks to be geared towards much older builders by virtue of its more complex and intricate brick pieces, and the use of foil rather than paper. Even the product reactions diverge, with a lukewarm reception for MUJI compared to the hot attention being given to Forma.

Perhaps LEGO Forma, if the positive reception can translate into sales, can revive the general concept of adding other construction material to LEGO components to create a remarkable work of art unlike what can be usually seen in other sets. It may have been developed completely independently from Japan’s LEGO MUJI, but common design elements seem to recur in new LEGO themes from the past.

In the meantime, the first four LEGO Forma sets will soon be available from Indiegogo.

Maryland Zoo Makes a Custom LEGO Wheelchair for Post-Surgery Wild Turtle

There have been lots of injured animal recovery stories that involved creating artificial wheeled supports for them so they can have a certain degree of mobility. Usually these are four-legged critters that lost a hind limb but could now walk and run, thanks to a custom LEGO wheelchair.

Staff at the Maryland Zoo have hit upon a LEGO solution to help in the therapy of a wild Eastern Box Turtle that was found in Druid Hill Park, Maryland, and taken to the zoo hospital. The said turtle had several breaks on his plastron – the bottom part of his shell – and following surgery he need a way to get around while keeping his healing plastron suspended. And a custom LEGO wheelchair specifically designed for the turtle is the best solution for that.

Maryland Zoo veterinary extern Garrett Fraess drew sketches of an animal wheelchair just the right size for the turtle, then sent them to a LEGO builder acquaintance for assembly. Weeks after the turtle’s operation, the brick-built wheelchair was fitted to him – plumber’s putty being used to secure the frame to his upper shell – and finally the box turtle has an upper harness elevating his recovering plastron, while keeping his legs free to move himself about.

Dr. Ellen Bronson, Marylan Zoo’s senior director of animal health, conservation, and research, explains the complexities of helping the wounded Eastern box turtle, a common species in the Maryland wilderness. “Turtles heal much slower than mammals and birds, since their metabolism is slower,” she said “So, this turtle will likely use his custom LEGO wheelchair through the winter and into the spring until all of the fragments have fused together and the shell has completely healed.”

Season 12 of The Big Bang Theory Features a Custom LEGO Brickfast

This past Monday began the last stretch of the CBS sitcom that, from 2007, has managed to endear itself to television audiences: The Big Bang Theory. September 24 was the premiere of the show’s twelfth and final season, and promises to (figuratively) go out like the explosion in its title. Why are we talking about this? That’s because part of the plot for S12 – Episode 1 of The Big Bang Theory offers a big shout-out to LEGO. The reference can’t get any louder when the episode starts with Sheldon (Jim Parsons) greeting Amy (Mayim Bialik) in the morning with a custom LEGO brickfast in bed.

Oh yes – the plate on Sheldon’s hand contained the usual custom LEGO brickfast of AFOL Champions: with bacon, eggs and pancakes made entirely of LEGO bricks, as confirmed by Bialik in her blog, mentioning that it was probably put together by an anonymous production staff builder.

That’s not the end of it though. Recall that Sheldon and Amy are on honeymoon at this point, and they’re going to have it at…wait for it…LEGOLAND Resort New York! Funny thing is that the theme park on Goshen, NY shouldn’t be open until 2020. And the visit’s off-screen, too.

LEGO and The Big Bang Theory have been in a real awesome partnership ever since LEGO Ideas churned out a (now-retired) set based on the sitcom (21302). Then in 2017 the show along with some of its fellow Warner Bros. TV productions received brick-built billboards courtesy of LEGO. That’s cool.

Here’s hoping we get more TBBT-LEGO shenanigans before the sitcom’s grand finale sometime next year.

LEGO Creates a Custom Brick-Built Ryder Cup Trophy to Celebrate First Ever Danish Captain

Every two years the greatest professional golfers from the United States and Europe band together to compete for the Ryder Cup, a prestigious competition that pits American and European teams for golfing glory on either side of the Atlantic. The latest Cup will take place at Guyancourt, Île-de-France over the weekend, and Denmark is celebrating. The reason for that is Thomas Bjørn, the first Danish golfer elected to be captain of Team Europe for the Ryder Cup. The country is jubilant enough, but the LEGO Group has plans to do more than cheer. They’re paying tribute to Bjørn with an appropriate a giant, brick-built Ryder Cup Trophy.

Let’s look at the statistics. This giant, brick-built Ryder Cup trophy was built by LEGO master builders out of 169,397 bricks over a period of 264 hours. The finished construct is an impressive 2.38 meters tall. Captain Bjørn of Team Europe also got to see it.

“As a Dane, I am proud of one of my country’s most famous exports – the LEGO brick,” said Thomas Bjørn during the unveiling. He is confident that LEGO’s tribute to him and the golf competition he will be leading Europe’s finest to will inspire both golfers and sports-minded LEGO fans.

The Ryder Cup trophy built by LEGO is on display at West Championship Village for the whole Ryder Cup week, and visitors who want to snap a selfie with the brick monolith can do so after donating to the European Tour Foundation charity.

LEGO Retail Model Production VP Rasmus Dunn also remarked on The LEGO Group’s pride for Bjørn’s honor and duty, as well as their token of commemoration for his accomplishment. “This represents a huge effort from the team and we hope it will add to the Ryder Cup spectacle this week,” he said.

LEGOLAND Windsor Is Looking for a new LEGO Model Maker

LEGOLAND Windsor Resort has been quite busy in recent weeks. Last month they opened their first “Total Sensory Space” for the benefit of their guests with special sensory needs. And of course, they’re gearing up for the start of the annual Brick or Treat festival this coming October. That’s all a lot of exhausting work. Perhaps it’s so much work, in fact, that LEGOLAND Windsor, or rather its parent company Merlin Entertainments, is looking to hire any LEGO builder in the UK with good enough skill and confidence in said skill to work as a LEGO Model Maker for the park.

It’s said that all brick-built models in LEGOLAND Windsor, when taken apart, will amount to more than 90 million individual LEGO pieces. That pretty much tells you what mount of work a newly minted LEGO Model Maker can expect when he takes up this job at LEGOLAND.

What’s more, the new modeler’s first major undertaking with LEGOLAND Windsor is the building of “spooky new models” to decorate the Brick or Treat “Haunted House Monster Party” attraction. They can expect to be putting together “creatures crawling in search of blood to terrorize your neighborhood” once they get hired.

And it will be a quick hiring to be sure. Applications sent to Merlin Entertainments for the new LEGO Model Maker at LEGOLAND Windsor will only be until September 28, at 11:59 PM. Whoever gets hired can enjoy a competitive salary, an employee’s 40% discount on LEGO products, 28 days of holiday and 20 free tickets to all Merlin Entertainments park attractions.

Brick History and Brick Wonders Features LEGO Exhibits by Warren Elsmore

Early this month, we covered a single LEGO MOC display in Fort William, Scotland at the UK. It was a brick-built historical recreation of an ancient Scottish hillfort. That was just one display. But this month two other Scottish historical sites will soon be hosting their own multi-display LEGO exhibits. These are the Brick History and Brick Wonders displays, both composed of LEGO fan creations by LEGO artist Warren Elsmore and his team. Brick Wonders is set to debut in Stirling Castle this coming Saturday, September 29, at the former Scottish Royal Residence and tourist attraction Stirling Castle.

Brick Wonders will feature brick recreations of “amazing sights from around the world”, with equal emphasis on historical locations and modern-day complexes. As seen in the photo, they can range from old-style housing to aircraft, space shuttles and other vehicles.

In the meantime, Warren Elsmore’s other LEGO MOC exhibit, Brick History, is straightforward in its subject matter. It’s described as a journey through some of world history’s pivotal moments, from Pompeii to London Bridge to Mozart to Martin Luther King. The display kicked off just this weekend, September 22, this time at Fort George, Highland.

Both Brick History and Brick Wonders are included in the usual admission price for visitors at their respective venues of Stirling Castle and Fort George. Brick Wonders will remain at Stirling until January 23 of next year, while Brick History will finish off at Fort George earlier, on January 6.