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Controversial baby to remain on most store shelves
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| The Fisher Price Little Mommy Cuddle & Coo doll can still be found on many store shelves locally. |
By VAL CLIFTON
When Cynthia Askew bought the Fisher Price Little Mommy Cuddle & Coo doll for her granddaughter, she heard the doll say something that wasn’t advertised on the packaging.
But she thought no more about it, writing it off as mishearing what was said, until she saw the doll on the evening news. Askew found the doll and pushed on it until she heard it’s alleged message: “Islam is the light.”
“I hated to take it back because it was so cute,” Askew said. “(My granddaughter was saying she was its mommy. At first I started to keep it, but I thought they went to the extent of doing something like that, what else could be wrong with it?”
When she took the doll back to Target, it was on sale for less than the $22.99 originally paid, so she called Fisher Price. And thinking that she was going to keep the doll, she hadn’t saved the receipt.
“It’s not a matter of religion,” Askew said, “but if someone could go to the extent of doing that, what else could be wrong?”
The toymaker sent her a letter apologizing for any problems she had with the doll and gave her a label to return it to receive a refund.
But instead of keeping the money toward another Fisher Price product, she headed back to the Cypresswood Drive Target to get store credit.
She grabbed another doll off the shelf for the store employee to scan for the return.
“There were six or eight, and I pushed every single one of them,” Askew said. “They all said that.
Juliette Reashor, Fisher Price Senior Manager of Public Relations said the toymaker has not issued a re-call for the doll, and when asked how sound file made its way into production, she recited the following statement issued by the company, which can be found on their web site:
The Little Mommy Cuddle ‘n Coo dolls feature realistic baby sounds including cooing, giggling, and baby babble with no real sentence structure. The only scripted word the doll says is “mama.”
There is a sound that may resemble something close to the word “night, right, or light.” To avoid any potential misinterpretation, we have eliminated that segment of the sound file from future production.
Because the original sound track is compressed into a file that can be played through an inexpensive toy speaker, actual sounds may be imprecise or distorted.
We remain confident in the high quality standards of our Little Mommy Cuddle ’n Coo dolls. If consumers have any questions or concerns regarding any Mattel or Fisher-Price toys, they may contact our consumer relations center at 800.524.TOYS (8697) and we will be happy to assist them.
We take every call from our consumers very seriously and do our best to help address their concerns.
Anna Taylor spokesperson for Wal-Mart, said a corporate product withdrawal hasn’t been issued, but said “some individual stores have made the decision remove the product from the shelves.”
Target and Toys ‘R Us spokespersons said the dolls will remain on the shelves and that no re-call had been issued.
Listen for yourself
To hear the sound file for the Little Mommy Cuddle & Coo doll, visit www.HCNonline.com.
But she thought no more about it, writing it off as mishearing what was said, until she saw the doll on the evening news. Askew found the doll and pushed on it until she heard it’s alleged message: “Islam is the light.”
“I hated to take it back because it was so cute,” Askew said. “(My granddaughter was saying she was its mommy. At first I started to keep it, but I thought they went to the extent of doing something like that, what else could be wrong with it?”
When she took the doll back to Target, it was on sale for less than the $22.99 originally paid, so she called Fisher Price. And thinking that she was going to keep the doll, she hadn’t saved the receipt.
“It’s not a matter of religion,” Askew said, “but if someone could go to the extent of doing that, what else could be wrong?”
The toymaker sent her a letter apologizing for any problems she had with the doll and gave her a label to return it to receive a refund.
But instead of keeping the money toward another Fisher Price product, she headed back to the Cypresswood Drive Target to get store credit.
She grabbed another doll off the shelf for the store employee to scan for the return.
“There were six or eight, and I pushed every single one of them,” Askew said. “They all said that.
Juliette Reashor, Fisher Price Senior Manager of Public Relations said the toymaker has not issued a re-call for the doll, and when asked how sound file made its way into production, she recited the following statement issued by the company, which can be found on their web site:
The Little Mommy Cuddle ‘n Coo dolls feature realistic baby sounds including cooing, giggling, and baby babble with no real sentence structure. The only scripted word the doll says is “mama.”
There is a sound that may resemble something close to the word “night, right, or light.” To avoid any potential misinterpretation, we have eliminated that segment of the sound file from future production.
Because the original sound track is compressed into a file that can be played through an inexpensive toy speaker, actual sounds may be imprecise or distorted.
We remain confident in the high quality standards of our Little Mommy Cuddle ’n Coo dolls. If consumers have any questions or concerns regarding any Mattel or Fisher-Price toys, they may contact our consumer relations center at 800.524.TOYS (8697) and we will be happy to assist them.
We take every call from our consumers very seriously and do our best to help address their concerns.
Anna Taylor spokesperson for Wal-Mart, said a corporate product withdrawal hasn’t been issued, but said “some individual stores have made the decision remove the product from the shelves.”
Target and Toys ‘R Us spokespersons said the dolls will remain on the shelves and that no re-call had been issued.
Listen for yourself
To hear the sound file for the Little Mommy Cuddle & Coo doll, visit www.HCNonline.com.
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