The LEGO Group and McLaren Automotive embarked on the ultimate engineering challenge: constructing a life-size McLaren P1 supercar using the LEGO Technic building system and no glue, and driving an entire racetrack lap.
Social-first creative agency Formidable was tasked with developing and producing the video, which was the key asset for the multiplatform campaign, alongside bespoke assets developed for the specific storytelling styles of each platform. Supported by paid social and PR, the hero video needed to tell the story in an entertaining way, from the impressive engineering feat using the LEGO Technic building system, to the lap challenge, as well as:
Social-first production team Formidable developed the content ideas and formats with the LEGO Group, and shot/edited the range of assets at top speed. All engineered for high performance on owned and earned channels.
They captured the drama of the back story at the design base in the Czech Republic. The shoot in Kladno built a sense of jeopardy by showing the real concerns held by the engineers as to whether they’d pull it off. Formidable had very limited time with Lando on the final shoot day, so the first day at Silverstone captured b-roll on the track. The second shoot day captured the unveiling in the garage. They cast car creator Sam (Seen Through Glass) to provide a 3rd party point of view – someone who loves McLaren Automotive and LEGO bricks but had never seen the car before. He could communicate the wow factor as well as the key facts and stats.
The final shoot day with Lando was the most critical – the hour Formidable had with him was planned to the minute. Sam returned so they had someone for Lando to chat to and bounce off. The activation culminated with the unveiling at Silverstone and McLaren F1 star Lando Norris successfully completing the lap challenge. All 29 edits were edited and approved by all stakeholders within two weeks.
The LEGO Group hosted the video on their official YouTube channel, where it has 856,000 views and 9,900 likes to date.
Paid social results: The video received 2,765,607 views on social media (1,988,071 on Instagram, 447,865 on YouTube and 329,671 on Facebook), reached a total of 4,338,200 people and was shared 13,734 times.
The campaign secured 2,578 earned media mentions across 85 countries and 3,400 earned mentions across social media, driving awareness for the new LEGO Technic McLaren P1™ across the globe. The campaign was received positively by media and the public alike, with 53% positive sentiment, 45% neutral and 2% negative.
