Comments on: Mattel Apology Leaves Social Media Toys Unwrapped and Unused

By: Marianne Richmond

Marianne Richmond — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:17:01 +0000

Great points Michael!
Although I agree with you that
they could have added some conversational elements to the recall announcement and asked for consumer input… your list is exactly right, the straightforward apology of their CEO and the fact that they set up a microsite contrasts sharply with the manner in which the pet food recall was handled.
Interesting aside, you mention BabyCenter which is owned by J&J. I wonder if J&J would use this community in the event of a product recall.
I thought they used their blog effectively in the Red Cross lawsuit fray and certainly demonstrated the value of having a corporate blog in place should there be a crisis, PR or otherwise.
Marianne

By: CK

CK — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:48:33 +0000

Folks: Has the apology been posted to YouTube yet? I’ve not been able to grab it (which amazes me…especially given the recall after recall. Oh yeah, after recall).

By: B.L. Ochman

B.L. Ochman — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:00:37 +0000

Great post Michael and welcome to Daily Fix!
on the Mattel microsite, in which Eckert again looks as emotive as a Ken Doll, it says:
“Mattel’s philosophy is that every employee is responsible for the quality and safety of our products. Mattel has an organization of more than 1,500 people worldwide solely dedicated to the safety, quality and overall integrity of our toys…”
So I guess their next story is about the massive firing they have to do to get those people to do their jobs.
Here’s the bottom line: there’s still no reason to believe we can trust Mattel.

By: Evan Slater

Evan Slater — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:24:31 +0000

I think you’re raising some interesting issues with how Mattel has handled their situation(s).
First and foremost, I’ll have to disagree a bit in that I find the video rather astonishing in that Eckert spends most of his time asking for people to trust that they’re doing what they can to ensure safety and fits in an apology towards the end of the video. But you’re right, I do believe that the executives over there aren’t sleeping well at night and genuinely feel bad for the pain they’ve inflicted.
I think the questions you’re asking are absolutely right, but the reason they’re not being addressed is because of how Mattel is approaching the problem. They’re embracing “crisis-management” which places them on a constant PR circuit but doesn’t lead to finding the honest, genuine, transparent steps they should be taking as an old-trusted friend of American households.
Take a look at the post we jotted a few days ago, shortly after the second recall – http://thecword.typepad.com/thecword/2007/08/what-should-mat.html
If Mattel had (or would) see themselves as a friend and start acting accordingly, they’d end up placing themselves in a real dialogue with people. They’d end up with a daily blog and conversations where people are, not press-circuits.
I think they’d end up with a lot more.