Mattel, the maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels, has apologized after new Wicked dolls featured a website link that directed users to a pornographic site.
Given that one is intended for children, while the other certainly is not, it was clearly a mistake.
The dolls were part of a promotional campaign for the upcoming musical film Wicked, featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, scheduled for release on November 22.
To generate excitement for the movie, ads and posters have been displayed worldwide, and Mattel released a line of dolls based on the film’s characters.
Fans could purchase dolls of Glindas, Elphabas, Nessaroses, Madame Morribles, and Fiyeros from retailers like Target, Amazon, and Walmart.
Priced up to $39.99, parents who bought the dolls for their children expected safe and appropriate fun. So, it was understandable that they were surprised to find an issue with the website label on the packaging.
A Twitter user shared a viral post showing two images of a Glinda doll box, including a link labeled ‘www.wicked.com’.
They captioned the image: “The official Mattel Wicked dolls link to a porn site on the box.”
Indeed, the URL directs to a site appropriate only for those over 18, contrasting with the movie’s ‘PG’ rating.
Other Wicked doll boxes were found with the same link, leading to speculation that Mattel intended to direct users to the movie’s official site, www.wickedmovie.com.
The company later confirmed the mistake and outlined steps being taken to rectify it.
In a statement to The Independent, Mattel said: “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.”
The statement continued, “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.”
The error left Twitter users both surprised and amused, with one user commenting: “Having worked in advertising AND as a copywriter AND being terrible at proofreading and attention to detail… this is my worst nightmare. Wicked dot com is a porn site. http://Wikedmovie.com is not. Oh dear.”