"The Future Looks Viral" is a weekly series where we profile the people behind an innovative, new online project, be it a parody Twitter account, web series or artsy Instagram profile. They all have one thing in common: the potential to go viral.
LEGO is no stranger to the world of pop culture. The Danish toy company has incorporated just about every major franchise into its block-building fun, from Marvel Comics to Star Wars to The Lord of the Rings. LEGO has even brought the likes of Batman, Shaquille O'Neal and William Shakespeare to life via last February's LEGO Movie.
But no LEGO pop culture collaboration has ever looked quite like this. The fake LEGO campaign "Fiction meets Fiction" mashes up iconic pop culture characters to create one cool LEGO piece you wish you could see IRL. The series includes "Spider Bond," a suave Spider-Man/James Bond hybrid, and "Homerine," a combination of Homer Simpson and X-Men's Wolverine.
The faux campaign was created by Alexandre Tissier, who works as an art director for the Buenos Aires-based ad agency Via Buenos Aires. Tissier was inspired by the seemingly unlimited possibilities afforded by LEGO toys, which allow consumers to mix together elements from different time periods, civilizations and genres to create something never before seen.
"I think LEGO lets our imagination go anywhere we want to. There is no limit to creativity," Tissier said in an interview with T-Lounge over Skype, speaking from Buenos Aires. "Everything is simple in the communication of LEGO, and I wanted to stay in this way, but to do something new. That was the challenge."
Inspired by LEGO's ability to fuse various ideas, Tissier decided to do exactly that with American pop culture. He first combined famous characters with people found in real cultures around the world, such as Darth Vader wearing a kimono or Batman dressed like a little kid getting ready for bed, very reminiscent of the real-life Batkid.
"The idea in this moment was to break the spirit of a big, bad ass known by everybody," Tissier said. "Darth Vader and Batman are really, really bad ass."
Tissier then decided to combine two pop culture characters in one for his next two ads, "Spider Bond" and "Homerine." Joining two separate worlds together to create one totally new LEGO character encapsulates the playful spirit of using LEGOs to create unique stories and worlds, according to Tissier, who said LEGOs were a major part of his childhood.
Other designs, which included one of Iron Man, didn't make the final campaign, but Tissier is thinking about adding more to the series. However, like anyone who has ever been on the Internet before, he's worried about the reaction he will receive in return for any new additions.
"People [on] the web, in social media, they are bored really quickly," Tissier said. "I don't want to take the risk to kill this campaign with some character that doesn't work. That's why, for the moment, I'm pretty prudent."
Tissier said he hasn't officially heard from anyone at LEGO regarding the campaign, but of course he hopes to see it come to life one day. But even if the company doesn't officially commission "Fiction meets Fiction," this advertising makes us all wish these fictional LEGO pieces became a reality.
Image: Courtesy of Alexandre Tissier
