Weetabix Promotional LEGO sets....

[LEGO Historian]

Weetabix is a cereal that American's know very little about... having been mostly sold in Britain and I believe Australia.

But old time LEGO collectors recognize the name of this British "Cream of Wheat" type chocolate breafast food as a major rarity among promotional sets.

In 1976 Weetabix sponsored a LEGO promotion for the breakfast food involving 3 small LEGO sets... a Windmill set, and 2 "semi-detached" Townhouse sets.

Well recently a flyer of this promotion was discovered... and it shows that all 3 model sets were part of the same promotion... and these all came in the same box (packed separately). So these were actually all the same set... you could only order the trio as a "LEGO Village"... and not separately.

Here is the rare promotional flyer...

Although these are boxed separately... they all come in a plain brown shipping box... with an insert holding the 3 separate boxes. So these should really be labeled as a single item... but since they don't come in a numbered set, posting them separately is acceptible... especially if one doesn't have all three.

Another even older Weetabix (first) promotional set was the 1970 released Weetabix Castle....

This castle set also came in a plain brown shipping box... but loose in that box (no sub-box). And even though this castle shows only an oval LEGO flag... this set also came with an additional flag... the UK flag.

These Weetabix sets are highly collectible, and are found in my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide... in the chapter with over 100 promotional LEGO sets of 1955-2006.

[Hey Joe]

This topic begs the question; what was the very first Lego promotional set?

"It's a new toy every day", catchy!

Thanks, Joe

[caperberry]

Yes that cereal is sold in Australia, under the slightly different name Weetbix. Go figure!

Fascinating Gary, interesting that fact had been hidden over time. I love the plain boxes they came in.

[Thego]

I'm too young to remember these, but I do remember getting some Classic Space sets from a Persil washing powder promo in the early eighties in the UK.

[LEGO Historian]

This topic begs the question; what was the very first Lego promotional set?

"It's a new toy every day", catchy!

Thanks, Joe

Ask and you shall receive!

The very first LEGO promotional item was in 1955 in Denmark. Esso Service Stations there were giving out little LEGO #250 Bedford Esso Tanker Trucks. These were introduced as part of the LEGO 1:87 Town Plan series of cars in 1955.

The Esso promotional versions came without any glass to the windows... while the LEGO versions did. Here is an image of this rare 1955 promotion... and the Esso box (no mention of LEGO) it came it. The "Esso Oil Drop Man" was a mascot of that era, and shows up on some of the promotional LEGO 1:87 boxes....

[LEGO Historian]

From my LEGO DVD/download chapter on promotional sets (I have over 100 listed)...

Here's a 1978 UK Weetabix advertisement for the 1589 Town Square Set...

Here's a 1967 British Kellogg's Corn Flakes advertisement for a sweepstakes (as opposed to just a "send in your money" promotional)... that gives the winners an 810 Town Plan set, a LEGO motor, and some LEGO wheels....

Here's a 1970 Danish Anders Cornflakes advertisment that gave away a rare 380 LEGO Village Set, as well as additional mini-wheels cars....

[Hey Joe]

Very interesting, thanks. I've been buying some 1:87 Siku brand trucks here lately with an eye on getting my HO layout back up-and-running when I get back to the States, so those are really cool. The little Esso box catches my eye as well, much like the little garages the cars came in.

Cheers, Joe

[paul_delahaye]

Although not branded or linked to Weetabix, I'm sure it was a promotion on the back of the packs circa 1987 which got me 6381 Motor Speedway set. There was also a promotion to get 2 other small sets, 1612 "Victory Racer" and 1898 "Dragster"

[LEGO Historian]

Although not branded or linked to Weetabix, I'm sure it was a promotion on the back of the packs circa 1987 which got me 6381 Motor Speedway set. There was also a promotion to get 2 other small sets, 1612 "Victory Racer" and 1898 "Dragster"

Thanks Paul!!

Most of the LEGO sets in the 1xxx number range are some sort of promotional set. The problem is that in most cases the "connectivity" to the original sponsor has been lost, or may not be well documented. I'll add the 6381, 1612 and 1898 sets to my list of "special sets"... ones which although they were promotional... they were not exclusives.

One set that certainly doesn't hide the promotion source is the 1562 small set of 1985... it comes with several promotional stickers attached. Shown here is PEPSI... but it is also known with CREST...

Edited June 4, 2013 by LEGO Historian

[LEGO Historian]

The best promotional sets are obviously those where the product is tied into the promotion... such as the 1591 Danone Truck set... sold in France as a Danone yogurt promotional truck set.

This advertisement shows that a maximum of 100,000 sets could be available... although the number actually produced is unknown (if it's less than the total number)...

One early promotion was a Scandinavian SAS Airline promotional set (un-numbered)... of circa 1964....

This little set was given out to children on SAS flights in the mid 1960s... and it consists of little more than just 2x4 LEGO bricks in several smaller colorful boxes within this larger box.

This particular set was also used by TLG as a corporate promotional set in the mid 1960s for visitors to the factory... and also as a Christmas 1964 promotional set with Christmas greetings written in Danish on the box top.

All 3 of these, as well as all the other special promotional sets are in my LEGO DVD/download chapter on LEGO Promotional set... which also includes all the Maersk sets, the Kraft/Velveeta promotional sets, the Scandinavian Ferry Line sets and a hundred others....

Edited June 4, 2013 by LEGO Historian

[antp]

Interesting detail about that Danone truck : I already saw the picture but I only notice now that they used a sticker for the ad. The actual set has a printed 1x4 Brick "Danone".

http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/3010px58

[LEGO Historian]

Good eye Antp... I didn't notice that...

And here's another promotional set that was given out by TLG to visitors to Billund. This was in the late 1960s and early 1970s....

Haven't seen the contents... so I don't know what's inside...

[___]

1589 Town Square Set...probably the first LEGO that looks like the ones I remember when I was a kid

[LEGO Historian]

Yes... the 1589 Town Square Weetabix promotion... the later (1980-83) 1592 Town Square Weetabix/Unilever/Spielzeugring (UK/Netherlands/Germany) promotion and the 6390 Main Street (USA only) were all very nice town sets that gave you an assortment of buildings in a town setting.

One of the nicest group of sets ever....

[LEGO Historian]

Well I was just adding some new images to the next update of my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide (free to current owners) download... First time I had ever seen the actual original packaging for the unnumbered Weetabix Castle set of 1970...

Image from my Dutch LEGO Collector friend Richard Bintanja.... lucky him!! Got this at auction... with the parts in virtually mint condition!! Also... the UK flag appears also to be original to this set (according to the original owner)... although it's not pictured on the instructions.

So this rare Weetabix Castle set came in a plain brown shipping box... very common for mail away promotional items.

Edited June 17, 2013 by LEGO Historian

[escortmad79]

http://isodomos.com/...s/Weetabix.html

http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Weetabix

Edited June 18, 2013 by escortmad79

[LEGO Historian]

http://isodomos.com/...s/Weetabix.html

http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Weetabix

Ah yes... Clark Stephens Isodomos site... Clark and I have been acquainted for over 10 years, and often share images.

As for LEGO sets since the 1970s... pretty much every set has been posted online in at least Peeron, Bricklink, et al. It's the older items, such as the 1955 Esso promotion, the 1967 Kellogg's promotion, and 1970 Anders Cereal promotions shown above that you won't find in other sites...

... not to mention these 90 LEGO wooden box sets (only about 10 mentioned on other sites)....

http://www.youblisher.com/p/611594-LEGO-DVD-Download-Chapter-14-Wooden-Box-LEGO-Sets-1950-80/

... or these even older Automatic Binding Bricks (1949-54) sets...

http://www.youblisher.com/p/600446-LEGO-DVD-Download-Chapter-2-Automatic-Binding-Bricks-PRIMA/

... from my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide on DVD/download....

... that you won't find any other information on!

But the newer stuff... everybody and their brother have the images.... just not always the whole story!

Very interesting, thanks. I've been buying some 1:87 Siku brand trucks here lately with an eye on getting my HO layout back up-and-running when I get back to the States, so those are really cool. The little Esso box catches my eye as well, much like the little garages the cars came in.

Cheers, Joe

Hi Joe... I see you posting on 1000steine as well....

Siku 1:87 vehicles are likely much more reasonably priced than the very highly sought after LEGO models. The same for the Wiking and Herpa models... especially since the high priced LEGO ones have a tendency to have the headlights fall out with even moderate use!

Cheers,

Gary Istok

[Carrera124]

Gary, do you have information about sets 1898 & 1899, too ?

[LEGO Historian]

Carrera124.... unfortunately I don't... I wish I did have some promotional advertising on those 2 polybag sets. But I have not yet found them...

Some sets I have quite a bit of info on... such as the 1620 Chocomel Factory set... or on the 1650 Maersk Line Container Set... and even many of the Kraft Food sets of the late 1960s... but others I have very little to go on, except for a set/pack image.

[Defaultsound]

Ah funny seeing that Kellogg contest. I believe a friend of my dad's won a set, the story goes he kept getting packages in the post, each containing another bit of Lego

[LEGO Historian]

Ah funny seeing that Kellogg contest. I believe a friend of my dad's won a set, the story goes he kept getting packages in the post, each containing another bit of Lego

Thanks for that little anecdote Defaultsound!!

It's little stories like that that most people would just say "that's nice" to... but it gives me so much information that others would just ignore!!

First of all the Town Plan sets were discontinued in Britain/Ireland and Australia by 1967. There were leftover boxes and boards. These were made in Britain by a company called Waddington's... a UK gamesboard maker... and by 1967 (end of the Town Plan era) there must have been some leftover inventory of boxes and boards at British LEGO Ltd. in their Wrexham Wales LEGO factory.

Second... by 1967 the Town Plan sets ran out of Esso Service accessories. In 1966 the #325 Shell Station became the service station of choice for TLG... superceding Esso, which was the LEGO service station (with associated spare parts pack with sign/gas pumps), as well as the Esso Tanker (#250), the Esso Barrel Truck (#251) and the Esso Barrel Trailer (#252). And the Esso station was found in a standalone model set (#310), as well as the Town Plan Set (#810) in Britain.

In 1966 when the #325 Shell Service Station set was introduced (along with the 431 (UK) and 491 (continental EU) Shell parts packs)... the leftover older Esso accessories were used in the leftover old Town Plan sets. Well by 1967 most of these parts were depleted... so British LEGO Ltd. decided to take the new Shell items and add them to the remaining inventory of 810 Town Plan sets. The result was a Esso style Service Station model... but with all Shell sign and Shell Tanker (#650), as was found in the new #325 Shell Station set. These 2,250 "leftover" hybrid Town Plan sets were dispersed in this Kellogg's promotion. The only Esso remnant to these sets were the petrol pumps. The old UK style petrol pumps did not show Esso in large letters (like they did in the continental European and USA/Canada versions)... so the leftover petrol pumps were used with the other Shell accessories in these promotional sets.

Anyway... the #810 boxes were shipped out to the winners of the Kellogg's contest... but that was not all that was part of the promotion... there were a few other items as well...

1) a LEGO motor with battery pack were introduced in 1966 as separate items #100 and #101. Soon thereafter these were sold together in a #102 pack. So British LEGO Ltd. likely provided the older separate models (2 different boxed sets) to winners of the Kellogg's promotion. So it may have been that these 2 items were mailed separately to your father's friend.

2) this Kellogg's promotion also consisted of 3 wheel sets... those would be sets 400 (small wheels), 401 (large wheels) and 402 (turntables). These were available in several box designs since 1962, and one of the older box designs may have been included in this Kellogg's promotion. Now I would think that these 3 small parts packs would have been sent together... but they could have been sent separately as well... thus confirming the story of your father's friend... that he kept getting LEGO items in the mail!!

Thanks for that little bit of information Defaultsound... it's these little bits of what many would consider trivial info... that I find very useful and tells us all a part of the bigger picture of the LEGO puzzle!!

Edited June 24, 2013 by LEGO Historian

[KingPixels]

We have it here in NZ too, called Weet-Bix. I used to live in England though, so I still call them Weetabix.

[Praetorian]

I'm too young to remember these, but I do remember getting some Classic Space sets from a Persil washing powder promo in the early eighties in the UK.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SZzP_JgZJ94/UGFwVc3yFlI/AAAAAAAAENo/Ys0qiow4Nzk/s1600/1593_persil_promo.jpg

I remember sending off for the quota of two 886 Space Buggy but I didn't get the 1593. Should have got several copies of 1593 as a MISB copy nowadays is very rare and very expensive.

[Carrera124]

:-)

[Defaultsound]

Haha Wow, I didn't think I would have vital information

I might be able to expand on that a bit, I asked my dad again and he says that all he can remember that his friend won some Lego from a box of Corn Flakes and ended up receiving boxes of Lego day after day to build up a large town layout. It seems to link up considering that contest was probably run in the late 60s, this friend was born in 1961 so he would have been about the right age.

Edited June 30, 2013 by Defaultsound