AFA ACTION ALERT - 11/12/99
American Family Association Dr. Donald E. Wildmon, President Tim Wildmon, Vice President P.O. Drawer 2440 Tupelo, Mississippi 38803 Telephone 601/844-5036 URL's http://www.afa.net http://www.afr.net http://www.afo.net +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Online Version of this Action Alert: http://www.afa.net/alert/aa991112.htm ++++++++++++++++++++++++ TOY MAKER REFUSES TO PULL 'ONE-FINGER' SALUTE TO CHILDREN
*****Read The Letter To AFA From Duncan Toys Company *****View A Clip Of The Commercial From AFA's Website (through online version)
The American Family Association (AFA) has received a letter from Flambeau Corporation, parent company of Duncan Toy Company, the largest maker and distributor of yo-yos in the U.S., after criticizing them for their newest sales pitch...'The Finger.'
The video clip of Duncan's new commercial is available through the "online version" of this Alert (above). The clip is very offensive and should only be viewed by an adult.
In a pre-Christmas advertising blitz designed to introduce its new "Hard-core Series" of yo-yos, Duncan began airing a television commercial that bounces from one rebellious personality to the next, each floating the crude gesture of social disrespect into the camera in slow motion. After 17 "one finger salutes", the announcer tags the 30-second spot, "Give us the finger, we'll give you the power."
Tim Wildmon, Vice-president of the American Family Association, called it "negligent" and "irresponsibility of the lowest form. Duncan Toys should be ashamed of themselves for legitimizing the most antagonistic and obscene symbol of our society in exchange for a few dollars profit."
Wildmon continued, "For decades, the Duncan yo-yo has been as much of an American icon as baseball and blue jeans. Today they have deserted their long established character as a children's toy maker for a new status - social renegade. Parents will be outraged to learn that Duncan Toys is subverting the core moral values they want their children to exercise. By promoting such behavior, Duncan is defying the trust of those who kept them in business a generation ago, the parents of today's customers." AFA has called on Duncan Toy Company President Jason Sauey to immediately recall the offensive commercial before more children learn to associate anti-social behavior with their product. AFA believes the gesture has long been associated with provoking violence and that Duncan should realize their corporate responsibility to children by pulling the spot. "Parents don't want their children using the Duncan yo-yo as an excuse for exhibiting an obscene gesture," said Wildmon.
AFA Director of Special Projects, Randy Sharp, received the following Fax from Duncan Toys Company President, Jason Sauey, on November 9: "Thank you for your letter of November 8 in which you expressed your opinion in opposition to the airing of our Duncan commercial depicting various subjects at the beginning extending their middle fingers to the camera. I appreciate your perspective and the principles for which your organization stands. I agree with many of the points you made in your letter regarding the general moral decline in our society. We, at Duncan, certainly do not want to contribute to furthering that decline. We recognize that all young people in their teenage years of every generation have a certain rebellious nature. Along this train of thought, we would like to encourage these same individuals to do something more constructive with their middle finger other than to raise it straight up in a youthful and vulgar act of defiance. You may know that the middle finger is also the finger that people should use for yo-yo play. For this reason all the subjects shown in our commercial have their middle fingers pointing horizontally out rather than vertically up. This outward position is the manner in which the finger would be poised when putting a yo-yo string on the finger. You may be surprised to know the number of people we encounter who do not know that the middle finger is the finger they should use to play the yo-yo and instead place the string on their index finger. Regardless of whether we are clearly communicating the concepts I am relating to you above, I understand that we may still be offending some people. I sympathize with those sentiments. Reaching young people today in a manner in which they will attend to, listen to, and respond to is a challenging endeavor. We welcome input from you or any other individual who can specifically suggest particular, constructive, and reasonable approaches for improvement. Thank you once again for letting us know of your opinion. I respect your opinion. Furthermore, I wish you and the American Family Association success as you try to positively affect others to create stronger families."
The commercial began airing last week on the partially owned Disney cable network, E! Entertainment channel.
ACTION URGED: Contact Flambeau Corporation, parent of the Duncan Toy Company, and politely express your outrage over their attack on America's children.
Flambeau Products Corporation Duncan Toys Division President Jason Sauey 15981 Valplast Road P.O. Box 97 Middlefield, OH 44062 Ph 800-356-8396 (Flambeau Corp.) Ph 800-232-3474 (Duncan Toys) Fax 440-632-1581 E-mail: info at yo-yo.com mailto:info at yo-yo.com +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "Spreading Truth on the Information Superhighway" AFA ACTION ALERT Buddy Smith, Editor Please tell a friend about the AFA ACTION ALERT