Mattel's X-rated Wicked design blunder is hilarious

The Wicked movie is becoming as famous for its poster design controversy as much as anything else. Now, with a few weeks to go until the cinematic release, it's in the headlines for an unexpected design-related reason; this time for promoting a porn site on the packaging for children's dolls.

Yes, you read that right. Incredibly, Glinda and Elphaba dolls based on the characters played by Arianna Grande and Cynthio Erivo in the film, rolled out into shops in the US with packaging that mistakenly carried the web address www.wicked.com instead of the correct address www.wickedmovie.com. Whoops!

The toy maker Mattel has apologised for the blunder. “Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the US, which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page,” the company said in a statement sent to CNN.

“We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. People who have already purchased the dolls are advised to discard the packaging or obscure the link."

The blunder just goes to show the importance of proofing a design carefully, including every detail of the copy.

Wicked (the Universal Pictures movie, not the porn site) is an adaptation of the Broadway musical that prequels The Wizard of Oz, telling an alternate version of events. Part one will be released on 22 November and part two in November 2025.

Meanwhile, Mattel continues to make movies of its own based on almost every toy it produces – even the View-Master.