When you’re marketing toys to kids, it’s important to make sure that you put the right corresponding website on the packaging. This is a lesson that Mattel learned the hard way a few weeks ago. In conjunction with the “Wicked“ film adaptation hitting theaters, a line of dolls was marketed that advised consumers to visit Wicked.com as the official website of the movie. Fun fact, that’s not the website for the film; it’s instead an adult film website. Mattel has tried to correct this issue by removing the dolls from store shelves but it hasn’t stopped them from being slapped with a class action lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff’s minor daughter allegedly went to the website and saw the pornographic images. The plaintiff also alleges that had they known of this problem, they never would’ve purchased the doll. Mattel hasn’t officially commented on the lawsuit, but has said “the previous misprint on the packaging in no way impacts the value or play experience provided by the product itself in the limited number of units sold before the correction.”
Is that a direct response to the allegation? Hard to say. Mattel is clearly trying to say they responded quickly to the matter, and the the toys themselves were not a problem.
The plaintiff is seeking at least $5 million in damages for emotional distress. One of the other points of contention seems to be that Mattel didn’t offer refunds for the affected packaging. Maybe the logic is how the dolls themselves aren’t the problem, and it would take outside effort to follow the printed link.
And to be fair, if you go to Wicked.com, it does give you a prompt, warning about the content before actually showing you anything.
It’s distinctly possible that someone did go to the website thanks to the packaging, and came across something they shouldn’t. But if this did happen, did it honestly amount to $5 million worth of emotional distress? Mattel definitely made a mistake, no doubt about it, but they did take action when they could. If we here more information about how the suit develops, we’ll let you know.
“Wicked” is currently in theaters now. You can read our review here.
