Toy company responds to campaigners by saying it is 'not planning any future promotional activity' with the newspaper
News Desk
Danish toymaker Lego said Saturday it had no plans for future promotions in Britain's Daily Mail newspaper following a public campaign calling on big companies to stop funding "hate".
The "Stop Funding Hate" campaign, which is gaining momentum on social media, aims to tackle what it calls the "culture of hate, demonisation and division that is poisoning our political discourse", according to its Facebook page.
Activists are targeting a host of firms such as retailers Marks & Spencer and John Lewis in the run up to Christmas, urging them to pull adverts from right-leaning British newspapers including the Mail, the Sun and Daily Express.
Lego's decision came in response to a widely circulated letter calling for it to end its long-running free giveaways in the Daily Mail, saying it had ended the promotional campaign.
The letter, written as part of the campaign by Bob Jones, a self-professed fan of the children's building bricks, accused the newspaper of headlines that "create distrust of foreigners" and "blame immigrants for everything".
"The agreement with the Daily Mail has finished and we have no plans to run any promotional activity with the newspaper in the foreseeable future," Lego said on Twitter, later confirming its position in an official statement.
"When parents and grandparents take the time to let us know how they feel, we always listen", the statement added.
Lego's decision was welcomed by many on Twitter, including televison presenter and former England footballer Gary Lineker, who responded by tweeting the words "brick by brick".
Singer Lily Allen voiced her support for Lego's decision, tweeting: "Wow, this is amazing".
A Daily Mail spokeswoman said: "Our agreement with Lego has finished and we have no plans around any promotional activity with Lego in the foreseeable future."
AFP
