Though this sounds like something I would plot to do to get around Black Gate Big Cheese John O’s moratorium on any of my content that isn’t family friendly, this is for real, and I’m not responsible.

You can’t spit a piece of gum these days without hitting some type of promotion for the upcoming theatrical adaptation of the musical Wicked. There is the Aldo Wicked shoe collection, the Vera Bradley Wicked cosmetic bag, Wicked makeup, perfume and coasters – and that’s just what I found doing a quick search. Considering the film about to be released is part one of two, the Hollywood promo machine is just warming up.

What all these items have in common is that they are marketed toward adults. The list of items aimed at kids is even longer, starting, of course, with dolls. However, there is one unintentional crossover item that will likely go down as the collectible of the decade.

Unfortunately, instead of getting a promotion for a level of buzz money simply can’t buy, the responsible party over at Mattel will likely be filing for unemployment before the holidays.

Mattel released their version of both the Elphaba and Galinda character dolls to tie into the first film which hits theaters on November 22nd. What some poor cubicle-dweller at the toy company failed to notice is that Mattel released both dolls in packaging marked with the link to an adult website.

The official movie website is www.wickedmovie.com, but Mattel left out the “movie” part of the link which leads people to an 18 and older site featuring pornography. Remember, these dolls are intended for people who are four years old and older, and all of which likely know how to access a website.

Mattel is pulling the dolls from store shelves, but not before many with the misprints have already been sold. They issued an official apology last Sunday stating,

Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page. We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link and may contact Mattel Customer Service for further information.

Yes, I’m sure that’s precisely what the consumers are doing.

Target, Universal’s largest partner for Wicked retail merch, immediately pulled the dolls off shelves. Walmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Best Buy, Amazon.com and other retailers are working to do the same, but not before products with misprinted website popped up on eBay for $100 to $800 (The dolls retail for $24.99 to $39.99).

Traffic to the adult site in question has quadrupled according to Wicked Pictures who has owned the domain name since 1994.

You know who you are.