evil Marketing for the movie turned into a nightmare for Mattel on Sunday when news broke that a URL listed on the character doll’s packaging was taking consumers to an adult porn site.
Sources said Mattel was responsible for the mistake. As of Sunday afternoon, Target, one of Universal’s main retail partners, no longer sells the dolls. It’s unclear whether the same website address appears on Mattel packaging evil Products and toys sold by other retailers.
Mattel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
evil The film will hit theaters on November 22 and is expected to do big business. Filmmaker Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the popular Broadway musical features a high-profile cast led by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Character dolls sold at incorrect addresses included Grande’s Glinda and Erivo’s Elphaba.
The URL listed on the boxed dolls is wicked.com, not wickedmovie.com. When the first link is clicked, a page appears requiring the user to be 18 years or older. Those who clicked “Enter” were landed on a porn site promoting an upcoming porn initiative titled kenzie loves girls 2 It’s the work of a company calling itself Wicked Pictures.
More coming soon.