thunderstruck88
New member
As a UPS driver, Ron Boyd has handled so many packages that they all pretty much look the same. But when he picked one up in Hudson the other day, his eyes widened.
Boyd was at Little Tikes, the 40-year-old toymaker that employs about 500 people and last fall was handed $4.3 million in loans, grants and incentives by the city of Hudson and the state of Ohio to try to get the company to stick around.
Boyd was looking at a big color photo on a box containing the Princess Cozy Coupe. It featured a cute little girl of perhaps 2 years old, sitting inside her pretend car, talking on a little toy cell phone.
Boyd was appalled.
''What kind of message is that sending to the public?'' he asks rhetorically.
''Why not just give her candy cigarettes, too?''
Good line.
Better point.
Scientific studies have consistently shown that talking on the phone while driving a car makes you as dangerous as a drunk driver. That's why the practice has been outlawed in 30 states.
Yet the Little Tikes site trumpets the glory of the accessory:
''Includes pretend cell phone that lights up, makes ringing and dialing sounds, and fits in its own holder in the car (batteries included).''
Adding a little toy Bluetooth wouldn't help. Research shows that the physical act of holding the phone is not the problem; the problem is that your mind is elsewhere, much more so than when you're talking to a person sitting in the same car.
So what in the name of Franz the Toymaker is the brain trust at Little Tikes thinking?
Not much, apparently.
When asked about selling a product that sends a rotten message to children, Tom Richmond, the company's worldwide general manager, initially denied its existence.
Well, unless somebody has hijacked Littletikes.com, the company is offering the toy for $69.99, plus $19.95 to pay for guys like Boyd.
When I pointed out that the item is identified as being ''in stock'' on the company's Web site, the Little Tikes boss said he'd have to get back to me.
Upon further investigation, he said his company does sell the cars, but that they were manufactured a long time ago and the latest version of the Princess Cozy Coupe does not include a phone.
So the company really is selling a toy car with a cell phone?
''We're not going to scrap it,'' he said. ''We're not making any kind of social statement here. We're selling toys.''
Which is probably what the makers of candy cigarettes would say, too.
Richmond said he didn't know how long ago the company stopped manufacturing that version or how many units it has left.
The Cozy Coupe is not just another toy. It is an American institution, a household name nearly as well known as Mustang or Corvette. Too bad Little Tikes isn't paying a little more attention to it.
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Boyd was at Little Tikes, the 40-year-old toymaker that employs about 500 people and last fall was handed $4.3 million in loans, grants and incentives by the city of Hudson and the state of Ohio to try to get the company to stick around.
Boyd was looking at a big color photo on a box containing the Princess Cozy Coupe. It featured a cute little girl of perhaps 2 years old, sitting inside her pretend car, talking on a little toy cell phone.
Boyd was appalled.
''What kind of message is that sending to the public?'' he asks rhetorically.
''Why not just give her candy cigarettes, too?''
Good line.
Better point.
Scientific studies have consistently shown that talking on the phone while driving a car makes you as dangerous as a drunk driver. That's why the practice has been outlawed in 30 states.
Yet the Little Tikes site trumpets the glory of the accessory:
''Includes pretend cell phone that lights up, makes ringing and dialing sounds, and fits in its own holder in the car (batteries included).''
Adding a little toy Bluetooth wouldn't help. Research shows that the physical act of holding the phone is not the problem; the problem is that your mind is elsewhere, much more so than when you're talking to a person sitting in the same car.
So what in the name of Franz the Toymaker is the brain trust at Little Tikes thinking?
Not much, apparently.
When asked about selling a product that sends a rotten message to children, Tom Richmond, the company's worldwide general manager, initially denied its existence.
Well, unless somebody has hijacked Littletikes.com, the company is offering the toy for $69.99, plus $19.95 to pay for guys like Boyd.
When I pointed out that the item is identified as being ''in stock'' on the company's Web site, the Little Tikes boss said he'd have to get back to me.
Upon further investigation, he said his company does sell the cars, but that they were manufactured a long time ago and the latest version of the Princess Cozy Coupe does not include a phone.
So the company really is selling a toy car with a cell phone?
''We're not going to scrap it,'' he said. ''We're not making any kind of social statement here. We're selling toys.''
Which is probably what the makers of candy cigarettes would say, too.
Richmond said he didn't know how long ago the company stopped manufacturing that version or how many units it has left.
The Cozy Coupe is not just another toy. It is an American institution, a household name nearly as well known as Mustang or Corvette. Too bad Little Tikes isn't paying a little more attention to it.
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