A Timely Toy to the Rescue One Action Figure Stands Tall in Newly Complicated Kids' Market

By Martha McNeil Hamilton Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, October 3, 2001; Page E01

Since 1998, Fisher-Price has been promoting police officers and firefighters with its generic "Rescue Heroes" action figures. Then, last December, the toymakers looked around and noticed some real-life local heroes. That's when they sat down with the Fire Department of New York City to develop a special-edition Rescue Hero: FDNY firefighter Billy Blazes.

On Sept. 11, of course, the entire world discovered the heroism of the FDNY. So in mid-November, 100,000 of the Billy Blazes figures will start arriving in Toys R Us stores, instead of the 20,000 originally planned. The FDNY action figures wear the New York department's black protective suit with its bright striping, and a red-white-and-blue "Fire Department City of New York" shield on the helmet. The regular Billy Blazes firefighter figure wears a red uniform.

"We've all been caught by surprise by the profile of the FDNY in the common consciousness," said Jerry Perez, executive vice president for design and marketing for the Mattel Inc. subsidiary. "The thing we're proudest of is that the [Fisher-Price] FDNY relationship didn't begin on September 11."

Fisher-Price had initially earmarked a portion of the sales of the $9.99 action figure for the NYFD's Fire Safety Education Fund. Now, Perez said, all proceeds will go to the fund. In fact, New York Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen presented the company with the fund's annual humanitarian award in May, Perez said.

There's little question the shattering events of Sept. 11 have altered the toy landscape. Retailers and manufacturers are pulling some playthings from the shelves and modifying others in an attempt to allay parental anxiety.

"I think the number one area getting hit is video games," said Jim Silver, publisher of the Toy Report. Many stores have pulled all video games with the rating "Metro Audience," a rating given to games designed for older teens that often include more violence.

One of Mattel's "Max Steel" action figures featured an urban setting with a New York skyline on the packaging. That was recalled from the shelves, according to Lisa Marie Bongiovanni, director of Mattel's corporate communications.

Lego also recalled a version of its Alpha Team action collection because it contained printed materials with "a suggestion in the illustration of an airborne attack on a city," said Eva Lykkegaard, Lego's communications officer. The aggressive themes in the illustrations "did not conform to the Lego brand's values," she said. There is nothing wrong with the product, she added, but the printed material "never should have passed our internal procedures of review."

Lego pulled the product, after Sept. 11, when a mother in the United States wrote a letter drawing the company's attention to the illustrations, Lykkegaard said.

Bandai America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Bandai Co., the world's third-largest toymaker, is revising some of the advertising for its Power Rangers, according to spokeswoman Colleen Sherfey. Power Rangers have always been about teamwork, she said, and now advertisements for the action figures will de-emphasize weapons.

"We want to instill friendship, support and teamwork," said Sherfey, who said ads would emphasize that side of the Power Rangers' battles against bad guys.

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has not made any changes in the toys it will carry, said spokeswoman Susanne Decker. But she said that there has been a trend since Sept. 11 to greater sales of plush toys. "It might be that customers are looking for items of comfort for their children," she said.

When Fisher-Price first issued its Rescue Heroes in 1998, they were met with skepticism in an industry flooded with combative action figures, according to Perez. "People didn't understand the concept and said, 'Who's the bad guy?'"

The idea, which has shown up at other manufacturers as well, is to allow kids to play with action figures with cool machines and equipment. But instead of battling enemies, they rescue people.

Rescue Heroes – a line that includes firefighter Wendy Waters, air rescue specialist Cliff Hanger and police officer Willy Stop – have racked up sales of more than $100 million so far.

Toy industry analyst Silver said that in a check of stores after the Sept. 11 attacks, the original Billy Blazes and his cohorts were scarce: "We went to six different places and couldn't find one."

-- Anonymous, October 02, 2001