Did you know the Rubik’s Cube recently turned 50 years old? Spin Master, a leading children’s toy company and owner of the Rubik’s Cube brand, announced an extensive campaign to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary.
Recognized as a symbol of “problem-solving, intelligence, creativity and perseverance,” the legendary toy will be celebrated year-round with the “Make Your Move” campaign designed to inspire younger generations to take up the challenge.
“The Rubik’s Cube is an iconic puzzle that has permeated pop culture, captivating millions of curious minds for generations,” declares Spin Master’s President of Toys Doug Wadleigh. “As we celebrate this remarkable milestone, we will honor the Rubik’s Cube’s enduring global impact, inspiring new generations to explore the cube and encouraging past generations to rediscover it.”
Rubik’s Cube Beginnings
Hungarian designer and professor Erno Rubik assembled his first cube, the “Magic Cube,” in 1974. After pitching the idea to the Toy and Novelty Company, who renamed the puzzle Rubik’s Cube, it hit store shelves in 1980 and instantly became a hit. Within two years, they sold more than 100 million units, giving the Rubik’s Cube the title of “most popular puzzle in history.”
Originally thought to be a tool to help teach students about three-dimensional objects, Erno Rubik later claimed that he sought to design a puzzle based on geometry. Since 2003, kids and adults worldwide have been setting records in puzzle-solving speed, a competition known as Speedcubing.
Governed by the World Cube Association, Max Park holds the current Speedcubing record, solving the 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube in 3.13 seconds in June 2023. Around the world, one out of seven people have played with a Rubik’s Cube, but most fall short of ever completing the puzzle. The “Make Your Move” campaign hopes to change that by inspiring people to pick up a cube and finally solve it.
“The Rubik’s Cube is a piece of art. It comes to life when we attempt to discover our own solutions to the vast complexity of the challenge,” Professor Erno Rubik says. “It speaks to the universal values in human nature: curiosity, perseverance, and ingenuity. Recognizing the Cube’s 50th anniversary celebrates these eternal values.”
“Make Your Move” Campaign
The “Make Your Move” campaign will celebrate this anniversary with new product launches, collaborations, and even the debut of a mobile game titled Rubik’s Match. New products will launch every few months in 2024, making it possible to celebrate all year. The campaign will also release limited-edition collaborations throughout the year.
Look for partnerships with pop culture superstars like Barbie, Stranger Things, Hello Kitty, Grateful Dead, and even Albert Einstein. The campaign will also introduce collaborations with Levi’s, NBALAB, U.S. Soccer, Mercedes-Benz, Heelys, Tetris, and G Fuel.
Some of the upcoming product releases include:
Rubik’s 50th Anniversary Retro Cube — A tribute to the original cube with classic colored stickers and the original Rubik’s logo. (Available Jan. 2024)
Rubik’s Sensory Cube — Developed to be inclusive for the visually impaired, it is a unique 3×3 cube with a tactile shape for each color. Even the packaging includes Braille. (Available March 2024)
Rubik’s Gridlock Board Game — A new challenging board game that tests problem-solving and encourages flexible thinking. (Available Mar. 2024)
Rubik’s Connected X — This unique cube is Bluetooth-enabled, allowing users to learn and improve by tracking movements in an app and recording and timing how long it takes to solve. (Available June 2024)
Rubik’s 3×3 Speed Cube — Designed for competition use, it features sticker-less panels and internal magnets for smoother moments. It also has adjustable tension to provide a customized feel. (Available Aug. 2024)
Toward the end of the year, Spin Master will introduce Rubik’s Match to the casual gaming space. It is a mobile game developed by Nørdlight Games, Spin Master’s digital game studio based in Stockholm, SE. Designed on the legacy of challenging minds worldwide, Rubik’s Match introduces a 3D take on the match-3 game genre by combining the joy of puzzle-solving with the creativity of personalization and building.
Over the past 50 years, the Rubik’s Cube has proved itself to be one of the unique toys that can bridge generational gaps and continue to attract new customers, which is getting harder and harder to do in this digital age. It is a timeless toy with a cultlike following and will likely continue to test the puzzle-solving abilities of generations for decades to come.