'LEGO: Everything is not Awesome!'A Conversation about Mediatized Activism, Greenpeace, Lego, and Shell

Abstract

This article is a conversation between Birgitte Lesanner and Camilla Møhring Reestorff, who have a shared interest in mediatized activism, participation, and social change. The conversation focuses on the mediatized activist practices that Greenpeace engaged in in their Save the Arctic campaign and their efforts to end the collaboration between Lego and Shell through the campaign LEGO: Everything is NOT awesome (Greenpeace, 2014). Our discussion starts with the concept of mediatization and how Greenpeace accommodates media logics and fosters online spreadability. We focus on the importance of popular culture in creating recognizability as well as the utilization of humor and culture jamming. The conversation then explores the relation between these mediatized practices and mobilization and tackles questions of activist participation – from online clicktivism to offline campaign at oil drilling sites. Wrap- ping up, the conversation dives into the consequences of the campaign and asks what kind of sustainable future Greenpeace envisions.