patgund | And more about the Nimbus 2000

Must have been a slow news day - I can't believe that people would be this concerned about a silly toy. I mean come on, Tickle Me Elmo vibrates as well...... http://www.nationalpost.com/utilities/story.html?id={1636EECF-83AF-4FD2-9CA2-26E1F2CD96FD} Sunday » September 22 » 2002 A broom of one's own A vibrating Harry Potter toy has parents buzzing Anne Kingston Saturday Post Saturday, September 21, 2002 As the manufacturer of Barbie, Hot Wheels and Tickle Me Elmo, Mattel Inc. is known for toys that resonate with a juvenile sensibility. Recently, though, the company has found itself at the centre of a very adult mini-scandal -- one in which it's been accused of marketing what's been construed as the world's first masturbatory kiddie plaything. The product in question is the Nimbus 2000, a plastic battery-powered replica of the broom used in Quidditch matches by J.K. Rowling's boy wizard in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. According to Amazon.com, the toy, which retails for $29.99 in Canada, features a "grooved stick and handle for easy riding." It goes on to enthuse that "enhancing the excitement are the vibrating effects and magical swooping and whooshing sounds the broom makes when on.... Requires three AA batteries (included)." Well, it would seem the broom's "vibrating effects" are a little too "exciting" for some hyper-sensitive parents. On the review section for the toy on the Web site, in a posting that has spread like wildfire by e-mail, one irate mother from New Jersey writes of buying her daughter the toy: "It wasn't until after she opened her gift and started playing with it that I realized the toy may offer a more than sensational experience. The broomstick has cute sound effects and ***VIBRATES*** when they put it between their legs to fly. Come on -- what were the creators of this toy thinking? She'll keep playing with the Nimbus 2000, but with the batteries removed." Well, we know what the creators of the toy were thinking, and that was probably the resounding "ka-ching" that has accompanied practically all Harry Potter-related products. The question is, What was this mother thinking? Clearly, her agitation had to stem more from her own experience, or lack of, with vibrating items, rather than any concern for the moral probity of a 12-year-old who certainly doesn't require a cheap piece of battery-fuelled plastic should self-exploration be her goal. But, once read, the mother's posting can't help but cast other rave reviews in a salacious light. So much so, in fact, that after a while it starts reading like the parody news Web site The Onion. "Ashley from Texas" writes she was concerned that her 12-year-old daughter would find the toy "too babyish, but she LOVES this toy. Even my daughter's friends enjoy playing with this fun toy. I was surprised at how long they can just sit in her room and play with this magic broomstick! A great buy for any Harry Potter fan!" A "toy enthusiast from Maine" said she bought the toy for her son, Vanto, who is a rather indulged little boy in that he was taken to the movie 32 times. She writes: "My only problem I see with the toy is the batteries drain too fast and his sister fights him over it, so now I need to buy her one." A posting titled "poola13 from Ohio" says she wondered whether her 12-year-old was too old for it, but "she seems to LOVE it. Her friends love it too! They play for hours in her bedroom with this great toy. They really seem to like the special effects it offers (the sound effects and vibrating). My oldest daughter (17) really likes it too! I recommend this for all children." At Mattel, the notion that the Nimbus 2000 is being perceived as some kind of pre-adolescent sex aid is greeted with incredulity. Company spokeswoman Sara Rosales says she's been fielding calls on the subject for the past few weeks. She deflects any suggestion that the vibrating broom is in any way inappropriate; rather, she presents it as "part of the Harry Potter charm, which is all about magic and fantasy." The thinking behind the toy, she says -- which, like all other Mattel offerings, was subjected to intense focus groups -- was "to give kids the effect of flying." Of course, the untainted child imagination is such that any ordinary broom could convey the same "illusion of flying." It's only when children -- and their parents -- are relentlessly marketed to that the expensive, imagination-limiting paraphernalia served up with child-targeted entertainment becomes a need. And the toy monolith Mattel is at the forefront of such pitches to children with an "entertainment" division that franchises not only Harry Potter and Walt Disney products, but the hugely popular Yu-Gi-Oh! and SpongeBob SquarePants. Indeed, a skeptic might suggest the Nimbus 2000 scandale is good news for Mattel in that it puts the spotlight on Harry Potter just as the hype about the fall release of the next Harry Potter movie, Chamber of Secrets, is revving up. Certainly, the once white-hot Harry Potter franchise has been under strain of late. Not only are the toys under scrutiny, but the books have even been censored by Christian groups for their allegedly Satanic, anti-Christian message. A pastor in New Mexico said he planned to burn them in a "holy bonfire." The volumes have also been banned at a Christian school in Australia and a toy store chain in England. The marketing momentum that once surrounded the series has also died down, given that Rowling is late in delivering book number five (though the recent news that Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter movies, might be replaced for the third by Alfonso Cuarón, director of the sexually explicit coming-of-age flick Y Tu Mamá También should spice things up a bit). Mattel could use the buzz. The company has profited mightily from the Harry Potter brand, one Rosales refers to as being "gender friendly," meaning both girls and boys like it. A new slate of products tied to the movie will be introduced within the month, she says, with elves, huge spiders and a flying car the dominant themes. Once that happens, the Nimbus 2000 becomes "old cycle," says Rosales, who notes that the toy industry is very much like the fashion industry in terms of built-in obsolescence. She figures there probably aren't a lot of the vibrating brooms on toy store shelves any more anyway. Which means that stressed-out moms had better grab one before it's too late. akingston@nationalpost.com © Copyright 2002 National Post