Lego dumps Shell after Greenpeace campaign

Danish toy maker Lego said Thursday it won't renew a deal allowing Shell to hand out Lego sets at its gas stations in some 30 countries, following a viral campaign protesting Arctic drilling.

In July, the environmental activist group Greenpeace launched a video that attracted nearly six million viewers. It depicts an Arctic landscape with a Shell drilling platform made of Lego bricks covered in oil.

Lego CEO Joergen Vig Knudstorp said the protest "may have created misunderstandings among our stakeholders," adding the company didn't want to be embroiled in the environmental campaign.

The world's largest toy maker "should never have become part of Greenpeace's dispute with Shell," said Vig Knudstorp. He added Lego had urged Greenpeace to have a direct conversation with Shell.

Shell, a multinational oil company, said it recognizes the right of individuals to express their point of view but said individuals should do so in a manner that is "lawful and does not place their safety or the safety of others at risk.”

Under the deal Lego signed with the oil company in 2011, Shell-branded toy sets are distributed to customers filling up with minimum 7.8 gallons of gas. The privately owned company said it would continue to honor the contract with Shell until it expires. It did not say when that would be but noted it was a long-term promotional agreement.