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During the 40th anniversary year of the puzzle becoming a global phenomenon, the team at Rubik’s Cube is focusing on educating people on how to solve the cube and making it possible for everyone.
The brand’s website includes downloadable and mobile-phone friendly solution guides and the YouTube channel is packed with entertaining videos to suit all skill levels.
Several Rubik’s ambassadors including Keaton Ellis from the USA and Jack Cai from Australia have been recruited to inspire and teach people all about the solve, and each Friday they broadcast to the Rubik’s social Channel’s subscribers and followers, with the hashtag #FastFriday.
Christoph Bettin, the Rubik’s Brand CEO, said, “We quickly learned at the start of the lockdown that solving interest was at an all-time high by those choosing to occupy their time with learning a new skill. Very quickly, the term #CubeAtHome was seen by over 17 million people on the TikTok channel, and this spread to other social media platforms with #AdventureEveryTurn hitting 2.1 million views in just one month.
“We amplified social channel interest with a new campaign called ‘Adventure Every Turn’, which encouraged cube fans to view solution guides and enjoy the challenge of unravelling a scrambled cube.”
What started out as a puzzle created by Professor Ernő Rubik to teach architectural students has evolved into the world’s most successful single toy, perceived globally as an art form and also an iconic symbol of intelligence and problem-solving.
In 1980, the Rubik’s Cube was officially introduced to the world. Now in its 40th anniversary year, nearly half a billion Cubes have been sold to date with 2020 set to be a breakthrough year with over 20 million Rubik’s products expected to be sold globally.
Adding to the excitement of the anniversary, Rubik’s has formed several partnerships to create brand new and unique Rubik’s themed products outside of the usual games and puzzles. These include Etch-A-Sketch, The Op, Perplexus, DeKryptic and Marvin’s Magic.
Within the USA, You Can Do the Rubik’s Cube programme typically places cubes into the hands of half a million students every year, helping them learn critical STEM and STEAM concepts.
Professor Ernő Rubik celebrates his 76th birthday on Monday, 13 July 2020, a fact that will be shared by superfans globally. On Wednesday, 29 July 2020, a new documentary called Speedcubers airs on Netflix. It follows the story of two speedcubing legends, Feliks Zemdegs from Australia and Max Park from the USA, who participate in a championship competition.
The trailer alone has been viewed over 100,000 times. YouTube viewers’ comments include ‘This is the kind of story Hollywood would make movies about in the ’80s. Glad to see the love for the Rubik’s Cube is still vibrant’ (TheGrandTurk) and ‘Love seeing all the comments from people who aren’t cubers getting interested in the hobby and the community’ (TeboeCubes).
“Face-to-face events are on hold for reasons of safety and social distancing but we’ve seen phenomenal growth in digital engagement. This change in circumstance has seen a massive growth of interest in puzzles and games, together with a yearning for nostalgia. The ’80s is now a decade admired even by those too young to experience it the first time around,” summarised Christoph Bettin.
“We will continue to celebrate during the anniversary year, when events that were hitherto ‘in-person’ may well be adapted to online experiences. You cannot beat the power of face-to-face gatherings but we look forward to providing exciting interactive alternatives.”
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