Just like for the “Barbie” movie in 2023, the marketing team for the upcoming movie “Wicked” is working overtime to gain as much exposure and public engagement as possible before the movie’s release.
The “Wicked” movie by Universal Studios, which is owned by Comcast (CMCSA) , set to come out on Nov. 22, is based on the long-running Broadway musical of the same name and tells the untold story of “The Wizard of Oz” from Elphaba and Glinda’s perspectives.
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Since the movie was announced, “Wicked” has created a massive buzz through collaborations with multiple retail partners, ranging from beauty products to apparel to toys. Stores all over the U.S. have been stocking up the shelves and dedicating entire sections to “Wicked”-themed merch, making it almost impossible to avoid.
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Not only is this a beneficial marketing strategy for the movie, but it’s also a great way to cash in on the retail industry as the holiday season approaches.Â
With such a massively promoted movie, one cannot avoid encountering at least one controversial occurrence. However, this latest gaffe could harm an entire brand.Â
Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, and Ariana Grande attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Universal Pictures “Wicked.”
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
Mattel tarnished its reputation by making a massively controversial mistakeÂ
Mattel is one of the most popular toy and entertainment companies, owning renowned brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, American Girl, and Fisher-Price, found at almost every retail store worldwide.
Being an established, kid-friendly company founded over eight decades ago, one would think Mattel (MAT)  would be extremely careful about its image to stay in parents’ good graces.
A small misprint in the company’s manufacturing could tarnish its kid-friendly image and forever damage its business.
Like multiple other retail companies, Mattel partnered with “Wicked” to create dolls based on the movie characters to promote and profit from the craze around the film. But, when parents read the small print on the back of the packaging, the results were not what they expected.Â
The toy company accidentally printed the wrong web address on its “Wicked” dolls’ packaging. This web address mistakenly led to a pornographic website with a very similar name instead of the movie’s official website.
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On Sunday, Mattel apologized for the misprint on its packaging and issued the following statement:
“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.”
The company deemed it a manufacturing error and said it would take immediate action, yet failed to state what steps it would take to fix this error, which left the term “movie” off of the package.
“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.”
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Although Mattel didn’t specify what actions they would be taking, the doll collection is in the process of being removed from the shelves at Walmart (WMT) , Macy’s (M) , Kohl’s (KSS) , Amazon (AMZN) , and more.Â
Customers react to the inappropriate mistake by Mattel
Many angry customers took to Instagram to express their anger at the toy company’s controversial mistake and commented on its latest post featuring the dolls from the “Wicked” collection.
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One customer alluded to the misprint being done on purpose by commenting:Â “…Is this being corrected? Or was it deemed not a big enough deal to pull from the shelves? There’s no way you all aren’t aware of it by now. Makes it seem like somehow it wasn’t a mistake. How’d ya miss this?
A customer warned parents, commenting, “Parents, be careful with the website on the wicked Barbies.”
An angry parent commented: “No one is buying the “misprint” lie. Trash company.”
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