OK…I just had to write this one.
Dora with her Backpack on
My young daughter got a ton of presents at Christmas this year. So many that we did not actually get around to opening them all until this past week [hey...I've been busy!]. When I did, I confirmed that What Not to Do practices are indeed still alive and well, even when it comes to children’s toys.
Allow me to explain.
Anyone who has kids knows about Dora the Explorer. Dora is a little 6 year-old girl who, together with her friends Backpack, Map, and Boots the monkey go exploring every chance they get. Well, this post is about what happens when lawyers get involved in one of Dora’s adventures.
Mega Bloks / Nickelodeon Dora Backpack Adventures toy set
For Christmas, my daughter got a nice-looking toy called the Mega Bloks / Nickelodeon Dora “Backpack School Adventures” toy set [see picture], which consists of a large plastic Backpack case resembling closely the character of the same name, as well as a whole slew of small toys and lego-looking interlocking bloks. This story, however, is not about the bloks; it’s about the Backpack.
Backpack
Anybody who knows the TV show [and who with young kids does not?], knows that Dora does not go anywhere without her trusty Backpack on her back [see inset above]. Well, my friends, that is where the fun begins.
Take a close look at the picture of our friend Backpack in the shot below. You should notice one salient feature missing from the Backpack. And that is…straps! Yep it is impossible to actually wear the Backpack as a backpack! The only thing there is just a cheesy little carrying handle! That’s not a backpack! It’s a briefcase!
Backpack with no straps!
After further thought and examination, it is obvious to me why this abortion of product design has been allowed to occur. Somewhere along the line, a bunch of folks got together in a conference room. One of them, at minimum, was a lawyer. The conversation went something like this:
Product manager: “OK. Here is our Backpack prototype. What do you think, pretty cute, huh?”
Lawyer: “Lose the straps.”
Product manager: “What?”
Lawyer: “Lose the straps. They are a choking hazard. We could get sued.”
Product manager: “But…the name of the character is BACKPACK. Dora wears this think on her back. Every kid who gets one will immediately want to wear it on their back. Are you kidding me??”
Beancounter Finance manager: “The lawyer’s right. Product liability insurance alone will eat up all our margins. Lose the straps.”
Product manager: “You guys have got to be kidding! Do you know how stupid we [and especially I] will look selling a toy named BACKPACK that can’t be worn on the back?”
Lawyer: “That’s not our problem. Our problem is protecting this company from legal and financial issues. Don’t worry. We’ll fix this whole problem in the fine print.”
Product manager: “Fine print? FINE PRINT?? What kind if kid reads fine print?”
Finance manager: “Hopefully, no one will read it.”
Well, unfortunately for Mega Bloks, I read fine print, especially when it concerns my daughter, and especially when I’m curious.
So, exactly how did our crack team decide to deal with this issue? Simple. Take a look at the picture below.
The fine print
Ah, yes…the fine print. It can fix anything! The only rule you need to remember is…the more difficult the problem, the smaller you need to make the fine print! Looking at this picture, I’d say we are dealing with a “Class 3″ screw-up. Not really that bad. Sort of a middle-of-the road incompetence. As these things go.
So what was their solution? Look again. Look closely. Here. I’ll magnify it for you:
Oh...now it all makes perfect sense!
“The bag is not a toy.”
OH..I see. It’s in a toy package. It looks exactly like the Backpack in the Dora show. It has all the other toy pieces in it but….it’s not a toy!
Just exactly HOW am I supposed to explain to my young daughter that this cute little item is not a toy? Thanks for making parenting just a little bit more challenging. I was getting a little bored with the whole affair anyway.
But wait…there’s more. Take a look at the last phrase:
“…keep this bag away from babies and children.”
UH….W..H..A..T?
The toys came stored in the Backpack. Should I not assume they should get put back in after my kid is done playing with them? Should I simply throw out the dang Backpack upon opening the present? Why not just save me the trouble, and ship the entire thing directly to the landfill?
If you care, surf on over the the MegaBrands web site…and you’ll find out, curiously, that the first feature listed under the feature description for this toy is:
“Backpack for easy storage and portability for kids on the go”
Hmmm…just don’t know how they can use this thing without actually touching it!
OK. Let’s review the bidding. We have a wonderful idea. A nice little Backpack replica with some play toys and blocks in it. Problem is….the Backpack has no straps and can’t be worn as a backpack. No doubt because some combination of legal and financial advice forced this stupid product design decision. And, adding insult to injury, the “business solution” to this mess-up was to say in the fine print that 1) the Backpack is not a toy, and 2) children should not be able to touch it.
If the Backpack is not a toy, then what the heck is it? What is it doing in a toy package? Why does it look like something a kid would love to play with? How should parents deal with this? Every time my daughter wants to play with the toys, does Daddy or Mommy have to get the Backpack down from some remote storage place, unpack it for her, and then pack up all the pieces and return it after she is done?? All the while explaining how she can’t have the Backpack to play with?
Can you imagine the kind of world we live in that can, peacefully and calmly, rationalize such foolishness? I can. I lived in it for many years. It’s called Corporate America. And, what they practice, day after day, is called What Not to Do.
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I’m laughing and crying at the same time. Ridiculous, really.
Maybe you could use it to store her crayons that smell like food . . .
Unfortunately, the fine print on the crayons says that they can only be played with by adults…in Shrilanka.
Very nice site! is it yours too
I am also a great fan of this subject and I love seeing some new posts in this niche! Thank you
You are quite welcome! Thanks.
It may not be the internal lawyers–it may be a tariff issue. If it gets classed as luggage the tariff is one rate and if it is something else ( a not a toy) the rate could be much cheaper. So still a beancounter helping design but its a shenanigan to beat tariffs.
Mike,
WOW…Thanks so much for the interesting comment! I would never have guessed that anybody would try to change a child’s toy to avoid it being labeled as “luggage”! I wonder if toy cars are subject to the automaker’s import taxes!
Actually, the choice to remove the straps since they pose a choking hazard was most likely a responsible choice made on the part of the designers and engineers working on the project and probably was made long before the lawyers were put anywhere near the concept– I agree that the luggage tariff also probably played a role but most designers in the toy industry are (or at least should be) well versed in safety standards… Especially coming from a company like MegaBloks who has already gone through several government regulated recalls, most notably for their Magnetix play sets:
” To date, CPSC and Mega Brands are aware of one death, one aspiration and 27 intestinal injuries. Emergency surgical intervention was needed in all but one case. At least 1,500 incidents of magnets separating from the building pieces have been reported. Although the hazard was initially thought to be a problem primarily for children younger than six, it has since been learned that at least ten injuries involved children between the ages of 6 and 11 years old.”
So while the decision to remove the straps from your child’s backpack may inconvenience the role-playing aspects of your child’s interaction with the toy, it was most likely made in the best interests of your child’s safety.
Katie,
Uh…all I can say is…wow. I am grateful you read my blog and submitted this comment, but…I have to respectfully disagree with you. Here’s why:
1. The product IS a BACKPACK. Shipping a backpack that does not look like a backpack, and cannot be used as a backpack is like shipping a bicycle without wheels. It may make some sense to somebody, but if it makes no sense to your customers, it’s a bad idea. Especially if the end user is a little girl who can’t read Fine Print.
2. Actual luggage backpacks for children ship every day. I see 3 year olds in airports using them. They all have straps. Go figure.
3. The warning clearly says “keep [the backpack] away from children.”. I’d say that more than inconveniences the role playing experience, don’t you?
–> Nevertheless, I think you are missing my main point. That being, if you can’t ship a product and do it right, then perhaps you should not ship it. “Fine Print” is for lawyers, not children and customers. It does not make up for poor product design.
I, for one, will think twice before buying another product from MegaBrands.
Agreed – one more in a long line of nonsensical decisions regarding consumer safety. Usually we see these things as bizarre translations from Chinese or Japanese. I think that Mike may be right – it’s a lawyer thing, but not really related to child safety, but more to getting around import restrictions and tariffs.
One additional comment – “loose” is not the same thing as “lose”
Tony,
Thanks for the comment, and thanks for your proofreading! Please let me know if you find any other typos.
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