In the United States, the company Citizen Brick, specialist in the transformation of Lego (it only invents trashy or offbeat characters) has created a figurine bearing the image of Volodymir Zelensky. The Ukrainian president is represented with his beard and his eternal khaki green t-shirt. Sold for 100 dollars each with the added bonus, for small budgets, of a Molotov cocktail – still in Lego – decorated with the Ukrainian flag (10 dollars). The profits go to Direct Relief, an American NGO that sends small medical equipment all over the world.
The character goes on sale March 4 through social media. In 48 hours, everything is sold! Citizen Brick raises $16,000. Ten days later, new batch. This time the stock leaves in 24 hours. The company will have raised a total of 145,000 dollars, entirely donated to the NGO.
Even if this story brought a lot of publicity to the company, based in Chicago, its boss assures that he did not act to make people talk about him but because he was upset by the situation of the Ukrainians. Joe Trupia wanted”do something“at his height, anything so as not to remain passive.
Comedian turned warlord, Volodymyr Zelensky brought him the perfect character: a central figure in the conflict, he arouses the empathy of public opinion and chancelleries for his unwavering presence. “He’s a man who could have fled with a suitcase full of cash and instead stands by his people.“Trupia said.”I was very impressed with his consistency and the hope he seems to give people.“
Citizen Brick does not have the means to produce on a large scale, it has stopped its production of little Zelensky men and Molotov cocktails. She is now asking interested people to donate directly to the NGO or any other charity.
It should be noted that the Lego brand, which does not make war-related products, it is its policy, was not at all associated with the operation; but it donated more than $16 million to Ukraine and halted shipments to Russia.
The Ukrainian flag is itself becoming a brand on its own: it appears on t-shirts and caps, often sold for profit and not at all humanitarian. Other derivatives are much more questionable.
Last week on the Amazon site, you could buy a whole bunch of products with the logo of the Azov regiment, these neo-Nazi fighters who face the Russian army. Their logo is largely inspired by the Waffen-SS.
Azov battalion merchandising available on Amazon. Simply outrageous! pic.twitter.com/C57nz1fNxN
— Samir Hmi (@samirhmi) March 15, 2022
A T-shirt even came in first place in the ranking of the best Amazon France sales in the category “Fancy sweatshirts”. The outraged reports came from all over the world. On Sunday, March 20, Amazon withdrew these products from sale. Not everything can be done in the name of marketing, even in times of war.