This year, I\u2019ve decided to (on occasion) write posts giving my opinion (2 cents!) on random issues that I have a definite opinion about. (Honestly, I try not to get too caught up in a lot of \u201cissues\u201d, but certain things just \u201chit a nerve\u201d.) <\/p>\n
One thing that I really don\u2019t like is when companies act like consumers are stupid. In my opinion, that\u2019s what Ty Inc. is doing with the Malia and Sasha dolls issue. (You\u2019ll notice that I don\u2019t link to the company or show an image of the dolls. I don\u2019t want to give them more \u201cfree press\u201d than they\u2019re already receiving!)<\/p>\n
Anyway, quick background (in case you\u2019re interested). It is reported that First Lady Michelle Obama is not happy about two new dolls that Ty Inc. placed on the market this month. Her rep is quoted as saying that it is \u201cinappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing purposes.\u201d The two dolls at issue are \u201cMarvelous Malia\u201d and \u201cSweet Sasha\u201d, two brown-colored dolls.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the part that annoys me\u2026 Ty Inc.\u2019s people are saying that the dolls\u2019 names were chosen because \u201cthey are beautiful names\u201d not because of the Obama children. PLEASE. Does Ty Inc. think that we consumers are ignorant? Oh yes, you just happened<\/strong> to release two brown dolls with the same names as the new President\u2019s brown daughters on the very month that the President was inaugurated? I don\u2019t think so! <\/p>\n Instead of lying, Ty Inc. could have responded in a variety of ways. My top two choices:<\/p>\n 1.\tThey could have acknowledged that they should have asked for the Obamas consent before making the dolls in their daughters\u2019 names and likeness. Then, perhaps they could have worked with the first family to see if there was some type of charity or something that they would like a percentage of the sales to go towards.<\/p>\n Or Even<\/p>\n 2.\tThey could have acknowledged that yes; the dolls were inspired by the Obama girls but that they don\u2019t have a legal obligation to get the family\u2019s consent since the names aren\u2019t trademarked.<\/p>\n However, they did neither. Because of that, I would never buy those dolls for any girl in my life. (What a shame, because they\u2019re relatively few Black dolls on the market. This could have been a great set of dolls for the Ty line.) In fact, I won\u2019t be purchasing any more Ty products in the near future. I really try to watch where my dollars are spent and I refuse to support companies that don\u2019t respect their customers enough to be honest with them! <\/p>\n