‘Mine is wrong too!’ Mattel fumbles a key detail in Chiefs Super Bowl collectible toys
Before the Super Bowl in February, Mattel gave sports fans the chance to preorder special Super Bowl editions of Fisher-Price Little People toys.
The collectible set for the Kansas City Chiefs included teeny-tiny versions of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, defensive tackle Chris Jones and a “No. 1 fan” waving a red foam finger and wearing a jersey bearing the Roman numerals for this year’s Super Bowl.
Chiefs fans started receiving the sets this week and … oops!
The mini superfan’s jersey says Super Bowl LVI. But this year was Super Bowl LVII.
“LVI?? We didn’t even play in that Super Bowl!” one disappointed fan grumbled on the Chiefs Chicks Facebook page.
“You had one job Mattel! One job!!!” wrote a fellow brokenhearted fan.
It’s unclear if the mistake affects all the sets sold. Mattel did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning.
News of these Super Bowl figures, each just under 3 inches tall, made a splash in the toy and collectibles world when they were announced earlier this year. Forbes reported that this was the first time Mattel made a Super Bowl Little People’s collection.
“The Super Bowl promotion is another example of how Mattel is using technology, and new ways of connecting with consumers, to grab a piece of the collectibles and the kid-adult market for specialty toys,” Forbes wrote.
“It has produced numerous collector sets of Little People toys, including ones featuring The Rolling Stones, Run DMC, and characters from ‘Seinfeld,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings.’”
Fans preordered the $30 sets, then hoped their team would win. Mattel said it would only produce sets of the winning team, and everyone who ordered the other set would get a refund.
The sets are no longer available, though a couple have popped up on eBay for $80 or best offer.
The Philadelphia Eagles set would have included quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receiver DeVonta Smith, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and an Eagles “Superfan.”
Some Chiefs fans didn’t remove the chubby little figurines from the box — collectors tend to leave items unopened to preserve their value — and didn’t notice the mistake until they saw the chatter on social media.
“If you ordered and received the little people set, did your #1 fan come with the correct Super Bowl on her shirt??” fan Jessica Nichole Baker wrote on the Chiefs Chicks page. “Mine is wrong and I’ve seen ALOT of others have also received the error, too.”
“Oh no! Mine is right!” fellow fan Cathie Carr Grant responded.
“Can you please post a picture of yours since it’s right?” Baker wrote back. “You were the only person that I’ve seen that says they got the right one.”
A little while later …
“Mine is wrong too! Ugh!” Grant replied. She said someone at Mattel told her “this is the first they are hearing of this. They are going to check into it and get back to me. … lol I’ll keep y’all posted.”
Wrong Super Bowl number on the toy, right one on the photo on the box seemed to be a recurring theme.
Another fan detailed her conversation on Wednesday with Mattel customer service, who told her they would send her a prepaid box to return all four figurines, not just the fan figure, and the process would take about four to five weeks.
Now fans are online debating whether to send away for a new set or to keep the mistake, recognizing that an oops set might be worth more than $30 someday. “A misprint like that could be a collector’s dream,” one fan posted on Facebook.
Wrote another: “It finally came... the girl is wrong I’m so torn on what to do!! I don’t want to wait another 8 months for a correct set! & what if they don’t send a correct one back.”
One fan who took the toys out of their box posted a photo on Facebook of his toddler daughter holding the Chris Jones figurine. Jones has missed training camp practices as he holds out for a more lucrative contract.
“I don’t know if I would waste your time teaching her that one. They may not get this contract extension done,” the mom wrote.
In a Reddit conversation last week, a Chiefs fan began a chat by writing that “I know there’s a lot of Chris Jones talk out there right now, but I’ve got some good news … The Super Bowl Champion Little People are on their way!!!! And Chris Jones is with them.”
One Chiefs fan in that discussion noted even more irony with the Little People sets.
He said he noticed they were being shipped from Pennsylvania.
Includes reporting by The Star’s Pete Grathoff.
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 11:39 AM.
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