Mattel apologizes for ‘Wicked’ dolls packaging linking to porn site

Nov 11, 2024

Craig Nigrelli Anchor

By Craig Nigrelli (Anchor), Brock Koller (Senior Producer), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)

Mattel may be hoping for a little magic this week to help make a packaging problem on its “Wicked” dolls go away. The toy company has apologized for a misprint on boxes of its collection for the upcoming feature film based on the hit Broadway musical.

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The dolls’ packaging was supposed to show the URL of WickedMovie.com, which takes customers to a website dedicated to the movie. Instead, a misprint led the packaging to show a similar, incorrect URL for an adult film website, leading to customers posting about the typo on social media.

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Mattel said in a statement to Straight Arrow News on Monday, Nov. 11:

Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page. We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.
Mattel statement

As of Monday morning, the entire toy line was removed from Amazon, Target and Walmart’s websites. It is not known when the toys will be made available again with the corrected packaging and the link to the pornographic website changed.

However, the dolls were still available on Kohl’s site as of Monday at 10 a.m. Central Time.

The movie “Wicked,” which stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as the witches of Oz, opens in theaters Nov. 22. By then “Wicked” fans are hoping the dolls will be back on shelves — as they will no doubt be a “popular” item this holiday season.

Tags: amazon, film, Holiday shopping, holidays, Kohl’s, movies, Target, Walmart, websites

[CRAIG NIGRELLI]

MATTEL MAY BE HOPING FOR A LITTLE MAGIC THIS WEEK TO HELP MAKE A PACKAGING PROBLEM GO AWAY.

THE TOY COMPANY APOLOGIZING FOR A MISPRINT ON PACKAGES OF ITS COLLECTION OF DOLLS FOR THE UPCOMING “WICKED” FILM.

THE DOLLS’ PACKAGING WAS SUPPOSED TO SHOW THE U-R-L OF WICKED-MOVIE DOT COM WHICH WOULD TAKE CUSTOMERS TO A WEBSITE DEDICATED TO THE UPCOMING FEATURE FILM BASED ON THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL.

BUT INSTEAD, A MISPRINT LED THE PACKAGING TO SHOW A SIMILAR YET INCORRECT U-R-L FOR AN ADULT FILM WEBSITE – LEADING TO CUSTOMERS POSTING ABOUT THE TYPO ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

MATTEL SAYING IN A STATEMENT TO STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS MONDAY – IT BECAME AWARE OF THE MISPRINT ON THE PACKAGING AND QUOTE

“We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children.

Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.”

AS OF MONDAY MORNING– THE ENTIRE TOY LINE WAS REMOVED FROM AMAZON, TARGET AND WALMART’S WEBSITES.

IT IS NOT KNOWN WHEN THE TOYS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AGAIN WITH THE CORRECTED PACKAGING.

HOWEVER — THE DOLLS WERE STILL AVAILABLE ON KOHL’S SITE.

THE MOVIE “WICKED” – WHICH STARS ARIANA GRANDE AND CYNTHIA ENRIVO AS THE WITCHES OF OZ — OPENS IN THEATERS NOVEMBER 22ND.

BY THEN WICKED FANS ARE HOPING THE DOLLS WILL BE BACK ON SHELVES – AS THEY WILL NO DOUBT BE A “POPULAR” ITEM THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M CRAIG NIGRELLI.

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