Love for the Rubik’s Cube Continues to Grow

The year of 2024 officially marks the 50th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube, which was originally created by Professor Erno Rubik in the 1970s. The professor had always been intrigued by problem-solving games such as chess and wanted to solve something new. His curiosity eventually led to the creation of the Rubik’s Cube, and the first solve took about a month.

“It was important to prove to myself that it’s possible to solve. Then I thought, if I can do it, somebody else can,” says Rubik.

With Spin Master’s recent acquisition of the Rubik’s Cube in 2021, the company is celebrating the Rubik’s Cube 50^th history and anniversary with a series of activations, collaborations, events and partnerships throughout the year. The anniversary campaign, “Make Your Move”, is centered around growing the number of problem solvers by re-engaging existing fans and captivating new ones through inspiration and accessibility.

A Milestone That is a Testament to the Rubik’s Cube Brand

The fact that Rubik’s is celebrating its 50th anniversary demonstrates the overall power of the brand and its ability to authentically create lasting memories for cubers. For instance, Gen X (circa 1965 to 1980) has carried their fondness, love and nostalgia for the toy into adulthood and has passed it down to the younger generations.

The strength of the Rubik’s Cube not only comes from its ability to transcend generations, but also comes from the brand’s ability to continuously encompass a journey of learning while resourcefully utilizing culture to allow consumers to connect with the brand in new and intriguing ways. For instance, the toy’s appearances in many TV shows and movies like “The Simpsons” and “The Pursuit Happiness” has helped the cube sustain its presence as a pop culture zeitgeist and achieve 98% brand awareness.

The recent emergence of limited-edition cube collaborations including Hello Kitty, Marvel, DC, Barbie and more; plus, partnerships with brands such as Levi’s, NBALAB, U.S. Soccer, Mercedes Benz, Heelys, Tetris and G Fuel has further strengthened the Rubik’s Cube brand identity as well its ability to connect with new audiences and demographics.

Related:Spin Master on Fan-First Brand Extension

“We love to partner with companies that align with the cube’s values like creativity, intelligence and problem solving and enjoy being part of pop culture as much as we do,” says Sam Susz, senior director of brand marketing games, Spin Master.

Spin Master has also incorporated digitalization and technology into the cube through its creation of a Bluetooth smart cube, the Rubik’s Connected Cube. It allows people to track their solves in real-time, analyze solving techniques and compete with cubers worldwide. And, the company will release Rubik’s Match, a match-3 genre casual mobile game developed by Spin Master’s Digital Games team later this year.

Bringing the Past to the Present
Along with culture, limited-edition collaborations, partnerships and digital innovations, Spin Master is bringing back the cube that started it all for the anniversary celebration. Now known as Rubik’s Retro Cube, this cube comes in a replica of the 1980s issue packaging with the original Rubik’s logo, classic-colored stickers and slower ticks seen in the original cube.

But there will be one slight change, and it's a good one. The yellow side of the cube will be replaced with a deep gold to celebrate and highlight the momentous milestone.

Rubik's Retro Cube, Spin Master

Amplifying the Rubik's Cube’s Impact

In addition to honoring the past, Spin Master is also interweaving the concept of accessibility into the Rubik’s brand during this campaign to expand its reach for years to come. One of the ways Spin Master will be implementing accessibility is by breaking down the solving process through easy digestible steps, whether it be an instructional video or a digital app.

Most uniquely, Spin Master has been working with the National Federation of the Blind to produce the Rubik’s Sensory Cube. This 3×3 cube has a distinguishable tactile shape for each color and is designed to be inclusive for the blind and visually impaired community — even the packaging includes braille.

“The team is extremely excited to see the Rubik’s Sensory Cube enter the market. It enforces the idea that all people can engage in the same way to play,” says Susz.

The cube is also known to help reduce stress, improve memory and boost patience and perseverance and the company wants to ensure more people benefit from a Rubik's Cube solve.

Sensory Cube, Spin Master

Rubik’s Fandom

Furthermore, Rubik’s fans have been celebrating the anniversary in their own way. For example, George Scholey, 22, a fan originally from Northampton, U.K., recently broke the world record by solving 520 cubes while running the London Marathon (26.2 miles or 42 kilometers). The previous record being 420 cubes, Scholey split 600 scrambled cubes into groups of 50 and put them into backpacks. Checkpoints were set up every two miles along the marathon route, so Scholey’s friends and family members were able to take the solved cubes and give him the next group of scrambled cubes.

Another well-known figure in the speed cubing community, Andrea Muzi, also commemorated the cube by attempting to solve 10,000 Rubik’s cubes in a live stream event. Though he did not solve all of them, he did solve 6,399 cubes, which put Muzi extremely close to the current Guinness World Record of 6,931 cubes. The event has also been noted to have pushed boundaries in the Rubik’s community and inspire other speed cubers.

The Next 50 Years of the Rubik’s Cube

In the next 50 years of Rubik’s Cube, Spin Master is focusing on increasing people’s self-assurance and inspiring the next generation of solvers.

“Once people have the confidence and experience of mastering the challenge of the Rubik's Cube, people will have the self-confidence to solve and master almost anything else in their life,” says Susz.

Finally, with over 500 million units sold, the toy has a larger presence in the toy industry than most late 90s toys like Gameboys and Tamagotchis. And to make this number surge even higher, the company is looking to grow the Rubik’s Cube presence in tabletop games and adjacent puzzles, strengthen its relationship with current partners and collaborate with new partners to grow the cubes accessibility and fandom.