“Sears halts sale of doll dressed in trench coat”
Last week’s look at Austin Powers action figure sales and parent complaints (posted here) wasn’t the only bit of toy censorship in 1999. Here’s an Associated Press newspaper article, written by Martha Irvine, in which the Columbine shootings of that year influenced Sears’ sale of a 21st Century Toys action figure known as “The Villain.” Surprisingly, a search for the toy led me to the Sears website where the toy is available at this time. Well, the 1999 newspaper article did have a Sears spokesperson say ” . . . we just didn’t think it was appropriate this year.”
Related articles
- “Toymakers are ready months ahead of Santa” (battlegrip.com)
- “No toys in the box?” in 1975 (battlegrip.com)
- “In toy industry, big things come from small packagers” (battlegrip.com)