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Sunday, December 18, 2016

No early 2nd wave LEGO Batman Movie reviews from me

A bunch of YouTubers got an offer from a marketing company to receive a bunch of the LEGO Batman Movie sets plus some other merchandise for free in exchange for content.  I have elected not to participate.  As usual I will be reviewing the sets once they are released to the public and I am able to buy them.

This is a similar scenario the previous LEGO Scooby-Doo promotion, but while I partook in that opportunity, I did not review those free sets and instead made "remix" MOCs of most and gave one to charity, reviewing other copies of the same sets once I was able to purchase them at retail.

6 comments:

  1. I really appreciate this un-biased and ethical stance on reviews, one of the reasons I think you're one of the best out there. It's nice to know that the reviews are not being biased by marketing campaigns.

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  2. May I ask why not? LEGO does not in any way requests or demand positive reviews. They only ask for honest feedback. I respect your opinion and stance, so I'm just curious. :)

    Besides getting feedback, early reviews also help with catching problems, and fix the sets before they become widely available. This have happened numerous times in the past. There is really no downside to collaborating with LEGO. They are just as passionate about their products as fans are, and they are pretty good at taking criticism, even when it is harsh. (Source: I'm a LEGO Ambassador and work with LEGO on a regular basis.)

    Anyhow, I'm just curious, so thought to ask. :)

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    1. This campaign is being run by a marketing agency, not LEGO itself. However more generally, I've had experiences in other hobbies dealing directly with manufacturers, including ones that I found to be astonishingly ethical and "human" in their corporate culture. However even then, I found myself the target of minor but overt angst, push-back, and other pressures when things I did with or said about their products were not in line with their ideal self-image. I just don't want to deal with any of that stress. I don't want to have the slightest cloud of worry about being asked to take down a review of a product I bought at a retail store prior to the beginning of the series' marketing campaign. I don't want to ever be pulled into a conference call with a room full of product managers attempting to convince me that my subjective opinions are objectively wrong. I don't want to deal with (more) of the least reasonable of my fans attacking me (and developing & spreading huge outright lies) for liking a good product "because sponsored" or disliking a bad one "because sponsored by a competitor." I want none of that mess, from minor irritation to outright misery & ugliness. I like to keep life as uncomplicated, pure, and positive and possible, and buying all of my products as the regular consumer & hobbyist that I am is a huge help.

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    2. Thank you, Jang, for taking the time to respond. And so quickly too! It is exactly the kind of reasoning I would have imagined you would give. Thanks for keeping your reviews as pure and unadulterated as possible. I respect and appreciate your stance. You are right, an uncomplicated life is beautiful. :)

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  3. I did take up the offer myself but I'm only getting one new set out of it (I think, I mean the package hasn't come yet). The rest I found at Target and LEGOLand Discovery Center - people who are reviewing them early are not JUST getting them from marketing. They are released in public. Keep that in mind...

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    1. That's cool, I did not know LEGOLands were selling them already as my nearest one is about 500 miles away. Targets in my region are generally *very* proper about abiding by release embargos, which have been attached to all but two of the Batman Movie sets so far according to local inventory systems.

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