picture of African American doll
I was researching racial issues and a blog post on Racialicious Web site caught my eye. In late July of this year, Costco Wholesale Corp. was forced to pull doll babies from the shelves because of the racist implications it portrayed.
picture of Caucasian doll
CBS in Denver covered the story and Costco CEO Jim Sinegal comments on the situation.
“We are sensitive to any complaint that a product we carry would cause discomfort to any segment of our membership,” Costco CEO Jim Sinegal said in a statement. “As soon as it became clear to us that this toy item was offensive to some of our members, we decided to remove it from our warehouses. We don’t believe there is room for argument in matters of this type, even though it was an honest mistake, made while we were attempting to do the right thing.”
Another blog that featured the story stresses the sociological issues and the questions surrounding the conflict.
Questions:
- “Does the history of associating black people with primates, actually make any product that does so problematic?”
- “Does the fact that the doll comes in white and Hispanic erase any concerns about the fact that the black doll exists?”
Interesting enough, people had mixed views if the doll babies were racially discriminating or not.
Comments:
Deborah
“All i can say is that this is a sad world we live in when people of any color, race, or creed do not seem the offensive nature of this doll. Why “Lil Monkey”? With so many names that could have been given to this doll, why this one?”
Chrystal
“What I think is sad is that people find this to be offensive at all. I think this shows exactly why racism is still so present today, regardless of how much we try to hide it – because people constantly have to worry about upsetting someone with something as silly as this. How on Earth can this possibly be viewed as a racial slur?? The dolls were put out in 3 different ethnicities, each available in either outfit. You really think a toy company would go through THAT much marketing/production/materials just to get a sly racial jab in??”
Costco did apologize for offending anyone and discontinued the collection.
PR Stance
From a PR perspective, I feel Costco handled the situation ethically correct.
Positive Actions:
- I feel Costco did the right thing by pulling and discontinuing the collection of dolls as soon as complaints started piling in. If the company would have kept the dolls on the shelves, it would have caused bigger problems and possibly ruin Costco’s reputation in the business market.
- I researched different print publications and the quote from CEO Sinegal is featured in the majority of them with an apology from the company. I feel this is important for the company to have C-level positions make a statement for credibility purposes.
- Additionally, mediums featured the company’s involvement in different diversity groups and foundations they support. This was a smart move to include such information because it helps support that the company did not intentionally showcase the dolls in regards of racial discrimination.
Improvements:
- The company should have researched the product more in regards of the public’s opinion. Costco should have conducted a focus group and even put a survey on their Web site for the public.
- As I was researching blogs about the issue, I did not see many responses from Costco. I feel with the integration of social media, it is vital for companies to motor the Web and make sure they are responding to any negative comments.
- I also felt the CEO could have been more apologetic in the quote all the articles used. It is one thing to say you’re sorry, than actually meaning it. Costco’s reputation and respect in the marketing field could have been ruined.
