Danish toy block giant LEGO said it would not renew a partnership with Royal Dutch Shell after pressure from Greenpeace drew international attention to Shell's oil drilling in the Arctic.

LEGOLEGO inked a pact with Shell in 2011 to put the energy company's logo on some of its toy building block sets. Greenpeace has mounted an effective global campaign – in some cases using figures dressed as LEGO characters holding picket signs -- targeting the co-marketing deal with criticism of Shell's Arctic drilling and its tactics in wooing children.

LEGO CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, who tried to quell outrage in July by saying Greenpeace's beef was with Shell not LEGO, on Oct. 8 chastised the environmental group's tactics but said the company will not renew the co-promotion contract it signed with Shell in 2011 when it expires. He suggested the environmental criticism did not sit well with the company. "We are determined to leave a positive impact on society and the planet that children will inherit," he said.

Greenpeace seized on the popularity of 2014's "The LEGO Movie," producing a video in July lampooning the film's signature song and featuring a large LEGO model of the Arctic that gets flooded with Shell oil.

Knudstorp said Greenpeace's campaign may have created "misunderstandings among our stakeholders about the way we operate, and we want to ensure that our attention is not diverted from our commitment to delivering creative and inspiring play experiences."

Knudstorp said the company will not comment further on the campaign. He added that LEGO partnerships like the pact with Shell bring its bricks into the hands of more children.

Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven told the Guardian that Shell's PR plan backfired: "Clearly Shell is trying to piggy back on the credibility of other brands. It's a good PR strategy if you can get away with it. But as we’ve shown, if you can’t get away with it, that social licence is taken away. It does damage them a lot."