The Bad Boys of Business: Mattel

By Mike Schuster Sep 03, 2009 9:35 am

No lawsuit, recall, or suicide can stop this childhood-memory maker.

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Until Precious Moments releases a line of figurines depicting animal abuse, Mattel (MAT) will easily lay claim to the title of Seemingly Innocuous Company Capable of Most Staggeringly Evil Behavior. Lawsuits, recalls, and even suicide have damaged the reputation to the creator -- and destroyer? -- of childhood merriment.

Mattel's flawed morality began with the introduction of its most famous toy: an unassuming blonde named Barbie.

Released in 1959, Barbie was one of the first dolls with an adult form to be mass marketed. Unfortunately for the egos of little girls across the globe, that form was ridiculously unattainable. In 1965, impressionable youngsters were treated to her secret when Slumber Party Barbie came packaged with a little guide entitled "How to Lose Weight." Its chief suggestion: "Don't eat."

But not even anorexia nervosa could help young women achieve Barbie's figure. A study conducted by the BBC concluded that a woman who stood 5'6" would have to sport a 20-inch waist and 29-inch hips to be in proportion with the popular doll - measurements usually only seen inside circus tents, next to the bearded lady and Lobster Boy.

And this was after Mattel altered Barbie's dimensions to bring her in line with a more "realistic" body image.

Recent years have brought a variety of Barbie incarnations that courted controversy. There was the infamous Teen Talk Barbies, some of which were programmed to utter, shamelessly, "Math class is tough!"

And in 1997, a partnership with Nabisco spawned Oreo Fun Barbie, in both Caucasian and -- with all its derogatory connotations -- African American versions. And this year, Totally Tattoos Barbie proved that you don't have to go on Spring Break to qualify for a tramp stamp.

"Barbie is a doll and not meant to look real," says Sara Rosales, vice president of public relations for Mattel Brands. "The aspiration to be like Barbie is more about the things she does rather than who she is."

But Mattel eventually discovered that Barbie wasn't the only one of its lines with a PR problem.

In 1997 -- three years after purchasing the rights to Cabbage Patch Kids -- Mattel introduced Cabbage Patch Snacktime Kids. Unlike the boring, unmechanized dolls that spawned holiday riots in the mid-1980s, Snacktime Kids featured metal rollers in their mouths that simulated eating. Unfortunately, the dolls were hungry for more than just food. One-way movement and the lack of an on-off switch caused the dolls to latch onto children's hair and fingers with no way to let go.

Mattel's response? "The issue dissipated quickly because the girl was more scared than hurt," Rosales says.

But of all the embarrassing gaffes and product blunders, nothing quite compares to the string of incidents in 2007.

The company's Fisher-Price brand out of China manufactured toys with 180 times the legal limit of lead content. Furthermore, small magnets attached to the Polly Pocket line were poorly secured -- they were a noted choking hazard and led to the perforation of the intestines if swallowed. Major recalls were instituted by the company.

It got worse.

Zhang Shuhong, co-owner of the Lee Der Toy Company -- which oversaw Chinese production of several Fisher-Price lines including Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer -- committed suicide by hanging himself inside one of his factories. Many speculate his relationship with the supplier of the lead-tainted paint used in the production of the recalled toys and subsequent feelings of repsonsibility were too much to bear. Shuhong's death only fueled the scandal.

Two years later, Mattel still finds itself on the defensive. But this bad boy of business isn't letting that affect the bottom line.