Toys 'R Us Pulling Breaking Bad Action Figures After Mom's Petition
- Thread starter StewShearerOld
- Start date
I think companies have simply become too weak in terms of their willingness to stand up to protests and letter writing crusades and such. In part because I feel too few are willing to really spend the time defending themselves, or drop the hammer with their rights as property owners when the need arises.
When it comes to something like action figures for "R" rated properties it should be noted that like it or not kids see and get into this kind of stuff. Guys like Freddy Kreuger and Jason Vorhees didn't become icons purely because of an adult audience. As a general rule toy stores have supported themselves by producing toys for a large group of age demographics, and those producing toys have oftentimes put a lot of effort into adapting non-child friendly properties into things more appropriate for children as well. For example "Toxic Crusader" (a very kid unfriendly movie) got it's own Saturday Morning TV show and toy line. We all know about Robocop of course, and when I was little we had things like "Garbage Pail Kids" which were pretty shocking to some adults, seriel killer trading cards, and action figures based around various horror movie franchises of the day.
The way it seems to me is that Breaking Bad is both well known, and responsible in it's labeling, including on that action figure. I don't see a problem with a 15 year old having something like that, assuming the parents think it's okay.
To me it comes down to parenting and knowing your children, and really other parents shouldn't be running around on crusades saying what stores should and should not be allowed to carry for toys and aim at children in cases like this. When a store capitulates it creates more problems down the road by encouraging more people to make similar complaints when they feel uppity, and in the end it lowers their overall stock and reduces the number and type of customers coming in.
Of course it could just be me, my basic opinion here largely comes from some efforts to get "Garbage Pail Kids" pulled, and those cards had pictures of kids with heroin needles hanging out of their arms and all kinds of things as I remember. To me a "Breaking Bad" action figure doesn't strike me as being much worse, especially seeing as it's largely a display piece (dolls like that usually are) and it aimed at teenagers to begin with... and to be honest I don't think kids young enough to be scarred by this are going to really "get" Breaking Bad as a concept to want an action figure to begin with.... and the figure isn't especially exciting or appealing unless you already know specifically what/who it is.
I'd also point out that people need to understand that kids tend to like monsters as much as they can be scared of them. This can create an interesting contradiction at times, but it's pretty normal, and frankly usually doesn't mean that a kid is on his way to becoming a seriel killer or whatever. It's sort of like the old Seriel killer trading cards and such, the point was that they were morbid, not so much that people really wanted to be Ted Bundy or whatever.
Of course then again while this is getting increasingly off topic I suppose the school shootings and the RL attempt to sacrifice someone to Slender Man has generated some paranoia.
When it comes to something like action figures for "R" rated properties it should be noted that like it or not kids see and get into this kind of stuff. Guys like Freddy Kreuger and Jason Vorhees didn't become icons purely because of an adult audience. As a general rule toy stores have supported themselves by producing toys for a large group of age demographics, and those producing toys have oftentimes put a lot of effort into adapting non-child friendly properties into things more appropriate for children as well. For example "Toxic Crusader" (a very kid unfriendly movie) got it's own Saturday Morning TV show and toy line. We all know about Robocop of course, and when I was little we had things like "Garbage Pail Kids" which were pretty shocking to some adults, seriel killer trading cards, and action figures based around various horror movie franchises of the day.
The way it seems to me is that Breaking Bad is both well known, and responsible in it's labeling, including on that action figure. I don't see a problem with a 15 year old having something like that, assuming the parents think it's okay.
To me it comes down to parenting and knowing your children, and really other parents shouldn't be running around on crusades saying what stores should and should not be allowed to carry for toys and aim at children in cases like this. When a store capitulates it creates more problems down the road by encouraging more people to make similar complaints when they feel uppity, and in the end it lowers their overall stock and reduces the number and type of customers coming in.
Of course it could just be me, my basic opinion here largely comes from some efforts to get "Garbage Pail Kids" pulled, and those cards had pictures of kids with heroin needles hanging out of their arms and all kinds of things as I remember. To me a "Breaking Bad" action figure doesn't strike me as being much worse, especially seeing as it's largely a display piece (dolls like that usually are) and it aimed at teenagers to begin with... and to be honest I don't think kids young enough to be scarred by this are going to really "get" Breaking Bad as a concept to want an action figure to begin with.... and the figure isn't especially exciting or appealing unless you already know specifically what/who it is.
I'd also point out that people need to understand that kids tend to like monsters as much as they can be scared of them. This can create an interesting contradiction at times, but it's pretty normal, and frankly usually doesn't mean that a kid is on his way to becoming a seriel killer or whatever. It's sort of like the old Seriel killer trading cards and such, the point was that they were morbid, not so much that people really wanted to be Ted Bundy or whatever.
Of course then again while this is getting increasingly off topic I suppose the school shootings and the RL attempt to sacrifice someone to Slender Man has generated some paranoia.
I don't really know much about Toys 'R' Us at all since they don't have chains in New Zealand (AFAIK), but by the sounds of it, the store has been selling Figures, Video Games and other goods to a mature audience, plus they've been keeping such goods off in their own section. So as has been said, it's interesting that these parents are okay with all the other stuff being sold, but they suddenly draw the line at this.
It sounds like just another case of parents demanding that everyone else protect them from their own inability to keep adult content away from their kids.
It sounds like just another case of parents demanding that everyone else protect them from their own inability to keep adult content away from their kids.
Remember kids! It's okay for the toy store to sell M-rated video games, toy guns, bows, and swords, and games and products that depict or encourage violent acts against people or animals, but an action doll with a bag of cash and a bag of meth is A BIG NO-NO!!
But fear not! Florida residents are looking out for you. Just remember this one simple rule:
Do as they say, not as they do.[footnote]Because Space help us if we all started acting like Floridians...[/footnote]
But fear not! Florida residents are looking out for you. Just remember this one simple rule:
Do as they say, not as they do.[footnote]Because Space help us if we all started acting like Floridians...[/footnote]
I dont think the "Mom" here got as far as buying anything: they've likely seen or at least heard of Breaking Bad, seen the associated toy while shopping with their kids and had a knee-jerk reaction. The Mom is galled at the very idea that Toys R Us would sell an adult aimed item in a kids shop, as opposed to having accidentally purchased the toy for the kid.Tyranicus said:
Don't get me wrong, I entirely agree with the sentiment - parents need to start acting like parents instead of relying on society to look after their offspring.
To give her credit, were Toys R Us specifically just for kids then it would be very surprising to see it on the shelves. Toys R Us should have responded however by saying something like, "We're sorry to read of your recent distress in one of our stores, but I can advise you that our chain caters to adults and children and as such we stock items for all ages." and left it at that. Bowing down to something like this is a stepping stone to a pointless path of censorship in the future.
Having been in many Toys R US stores myself, The store is very much targeted for young children, often with activities for young children taking place at the store for kids to actively participate in. Their primary focus seems to be a dress up princess section and baby dolls and educational toys for children and such. They frequently have a person in a giraffe suit running around taking pictures with young children, and people telling stories or doing puppet shows and such for young children in their stores.Infernal Lawyer said:
It is not in any way comparable to a comic store or other that primarily focuses on a more mature crowd, as you might think given the wide variety of toys they sell. I recently read they were adding a Claire's jewelry section for tweens and teenage girls, they very well could do a section where you walk through a door way with a mature content warning prior to entering to allow parent to know that there is mature content and not Disney princess items to be expected within. The issue is they had the mature toys mixed in with items for young children in the same section in a store that it is expected for children to be able to feel at ease shopping and participating in child themed store events.
Toys R Us target audience is young children, they have been recently attempting to expand to an older audience but they really should section those off accordingly to better assist their customers rather than alienate their current primary consumers. I very much would like them to expand their selection of action figures, as in the past, they did not have as much of a selection as other vendors, however, they should be smart about it and make a section just for that within their stores rather than mix them in with the existing mickey mouse and toy story figures they currently carry. This would also assist their customers coming in looking for these items to make them easily available for them to find, and not force them to sort through the buzz light years to locate what they are looking for. They actually did not have these in a different section, they are on the same isle with other toys for children. Often times, they even throw them in the same bin with toys that are for 3+ years of age when clearancing them as well.
Considering many children actually go hunting with their parents as a family venture, firearms around children is not that uncommon. I started shooting at the age of 8, and actually had to shoot my first animal at the age of 12 in defense of our farm. My brothers did so much younger, as they were larger than me. It was older for me as I am a very petite female and shooting was more difficult for me due to my petite size, I received terrible bruises from doing so and the power of a firearm can be difficult to control unless you weigh enough. My brothers were killing snakes and such with knives, machetes and shovels by the age of 6 and skinning them, so the idea that these things are not commonly around children as it is is an odd idea to me. I am sure in more sheltered environments where the children are not trained in survival skills this may seem odd, but I assure you, this is has been the way of the world for a very long time now, and I do not see that changing any time soon.P-89 Scorpion said:
It amazes me how easy it is to get something pulled from the shelves these days. Aldi pulled Roald Dahl's 'Revolting Rhymes' from its stores after just one person complained on facebook about the use of the word 'slut'.
I can tell you exactly why they have done this.
NPS (Net Promoter Score). In essence this is a score that tells the company how likely a customer is to recommend a retailer to a friend. Working for a company in the UK that has placed this value as the most important thing in the universe I can tell you that if a customer so much as thinks about complaining they will get whatever the hell they want, no matter how stupid the reason or how legitimate the complaint.
In the US Toys R US has an NPS of 68%, which isn't bad but is down by 5% on what it was last year they are below potential direct or alternative rivals inlcuding Wal Mart.
Seriously you would like to think that this is just Walmart appeasing some over sensitive and frankly stupid women (what's the worst that can happen, mommy who's that? Well son that is a character from a fantastic piece of television and when you are a bit older I will heartily recommend you watch it... anyway) yeah they did this because of cash because companies are so afraid of people lowering their NPS they will bow to any and all stupidity.
So yeah next time you get asked to go online and fill out what you thought about your visit (which you will because fucking everywhere does it, KFC does it for fuck sake) it's because they want you to tell them that if your mate asked where can I buy X you would say from them.
NPS (Net Promoter Score). In essence this is a score that tells the company how likely a customer is to recommend a retailer to a friend. Working for a company in the UK that has placed this value as the most important thing in the universe I can tell you that if a customer so much as thinks about complaining they will get whatever the hell they want, no matter how stupid the reason or how legitimate the complaint.
In the US Toys R US has an NPS of 68%, which isn't bad but is down by 5% on what it was last year they are below potential direct or alternative rivals inlcuding Wal Mart.
Seriously you would like to think that this is just Walmart appeasing some over sensitive and frankly stupid women (what's the worst that can happen, mommy who's that? Well son that is a character from a fantastic piece of television and when you are a bit older I will heartily recommend you watch it... anyway) yeah they did this because of cash because companies are so afraid of people lowering their NPS they will bow to any and all stupidity.
So yeah next time you get asked to go online and fill out what you thought about your visit (which you will because fucking everywhere does it, KFC does it for fuck sake) it's because they want you to tell them that if your mate asked where can I buy X you would say from them.
Adult action figures removed from kiddie toy store. For some reason a lot of people find this controversial.
But selling CoD is okay? Toys'R'Us should have age restrictions on all their merch but out right banning it seems hypocritical considering they also military endorsed toys and Nerf guns. You ever took a Nerf gun to the face, it ACTUALLY hurts!inu-kun said:
You might have a point there if there was any actual "legitimate worry" here. Looking at the pic the toys don't have any harmful inside(or much of anything actually, and for $20? What a ripoff) and it's very unlikely that the back has any harmful messages like "Go do drugs!" or anything like that.(If there was then the media would on it like a starving man in a buffet) If anything assuming the parent does their job and keeps their kid away from shows like Breaking Bad, it would look like a extremely boring toy that kids would immediately pass over. So I'm sorry but this a clear simple case of censorship, especially since as previously mentioned in other posts ToyR-Us doesn't just sell children oriented Toys. Again if there was some actual danger here I would be 100% removing them, but the only danger here is parents thinking they can keep legitimate products out of stores just because they don't want to do their jobs.inu-kun said:
No, Breaking Bad wasn't amazing, we can't agree on that.
As for the story, well, that sucks. There really isn't a reason for them to be removed. It's a toy store. Those are toys.
Hell, the show doesn't even glorify what they do. A lot of the character's just get miserable and die or whatever, and their dead end ways are dead ends.
I just find this all silly, to be honest.
As for the story, well, that sucks. There really isn't a reason for them to be removed. It's a toy store. Those are toys.
Hell, the show doesn't even glorify what they do. A lot of the character's just get miserable and die or whatever, and their dead end ways are dead ends.
I just find this all silly, to be honest.
