Mattel Seemingly Just Found Out About That NSFW Wicked Merch Error When We Did, And The Apology Message Is Classic
With the Wicked movie just weeks away from finally coming to theaters, it’s time to get your hands on a bunch of the musical film’s themed merchandise to set the mood. Especially if we’re going to have a Wickediator box office opening weekend, kids can show they’re Team Wicked with their Glinda or Elphaba costumes along with dolls from the movie that act as perfect companions. Speaking of Glinda/Elphaba dolls, Mattel made a huge NSFW error with their Wicked merch and issued a classic apology once they discovered the mistake (seemingly around the same time we did).
Wicked has been doing an impressive job with its movie merchandise so far. Regal Cinemas came up with their own gorgeous popcorn buckets that truly look like they were purchased from The Land of Oz. There was also even a limited edition collectible of Wicked-themed Stanley Cups that almost led to a brawl. However, there is another merch from the Jon M. Chu movie that’s causing quite a stir.
Take a look at CBS Mornings’ Instagram video reporting that Glinda and Elphaba dolls had an unfortunate error in their packaging that’s not exactly kid-friendly:
Yes, you heard it right. With the intention of having Wicked’s official website featured on the back of the doll’s packaging, a misprint in the URL address accidentally led families to a porn site. The real website for the movie and subsequently its packaging was supposed to say www.wickedmovie.com (rather than wicked.com) Fortunately, Mattel was seemingly aware of the mistake at the same time as us and they issued a classy apology statement as reported by ABC News:
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.
I truly feel sympathy for the parents and kids who were accidentally led to an adult NSFW website. At the same time, accidents do happen and at least Mattel issued a first-rate apology you’d think The Wizard of Oz himself declared.
According to ABC News, customers were quick to post images on social media when they noticed the mistaken URL address on the back of the Wicked dolls. YouTube creator Sarah Genao first heard about the printing mishap on Reddit and had to see this merchandise mistake for herself by going to Target. She said that while she initially thought it was funny, it worried her how “under the radar” the incorrect website address was after the dolls had been on the market for weeks. Fortunately, Mattel plans to take “immediate action” to fix the packaging error.
Even though it’s hard to ignore that kids might have been accidentally brought to an adult porn site, we should still commend Mattel for the dolls’ impressive likeness to Wicked cast members Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Kids could take these finely crafted dolls with them to the fantasy-musical movie and feel like they’ve got a bit of magic sitting with them. No packaging misprint can ruin the magical quality the dolls bring.
Mattel’s classic apology for misprinting a porn site address on the back of their Wicked doll’s merch shows their willingness to admit their mistakes and remedy them. Now the error is out in the open, parents can quickly discard packaging from their kids if the misprint is still present on the back. Be sure to bring your dolls, popcorn buckets, and any other merch for the 2024 movie release of Wicked in theaters on November 22nd.
