Red

[turtleman]

Why is it that almost every Lego theme as their main or most important protaganist as a red character? Its not just Lego many brands have red as the main character's color. Does red sell better? Does it stand out more to small children?

[Lyichir]

Why is it that almost every Lego theme as their main or most important protaganist as a red character? Its not just Lego many brands have red as the main character's color. Does red sell better? Does it stand out more to small children?

Yes and yes. Red is a powerful color. Even outside of toys it is a color traditionally associated with leadership or royalty. Some Lego themes have changed things up, of course. Exo-Force's primary character had blue and white motifs, as did the primary character of Knights Kingdom II, and Ninjago shifted its focus from Kai, the Red Ninja, in 2011 to Lloyd, the Green Ninja, in 2012. And even Lloyd switched to gold in 2013—gold being another popular color with kids, and maybe the only way to improve upon red (also compare Rocka in Hero Factory or Takanuva in Bionicle, both of whom stole the spotlight somewhat from the red protagonists of their respective themes).

[fishers64]

Red tends to be the color that attracts your eye, so it's easy and practical to associate that with things people want to emphasize.