Saturday, August 14, 2010

Clobbergate

I'm not a stranger to, or fan of, McDonalds or Happy Meals in general but of course I always keep an eye out for comic book-ish Happy Meal surprises that I simply can't live without. But when I came across the newest Marvel promotion my enthusiasm ranged from moderate to low.

Not that the somewhat crudely designed figures are horrible, they just did nothing to draw attention to themselves...or so I thought.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has started a letter writing campaign to have these toys removed from the land of the Golden Arches. What's their beef?

A concern that upon laying eyes on the Human Torch figure, kids will immediately douse themselves with gasoline and proceed to "Flame On!" Urban legends state that this may or may not have been a concern before but another FF member is also fanning the flames of controversy.
The catchphrase of a certain ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing is also facing a rocky relationship with the CCFC. According to them, "It's Clobberin' Time" will incite violence within the playground. They fear that drive-by clobberings will run rampant.

Will this lead to a full scale recall? Probably not, although collectors are certainly hoping for one to increase value. (I'm not too invested in the situation since the two I got are going to the nephews.)

You can read more about the story HERE, HERE, HERE and all over the interwebs.

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