The MGA Miniverse “Happy Hour” line of model alcoholic drinks is a spinoff of the popular Miniverse toys, an award-winning line of model everyday objects. The idea is to allow kids to use resin, stickers, and precast plastic models to construct familiar products at the scale of MGA’s signature Bratz dolls. With the “Happy Hour” collection, MGA is introducing margarita glasses, Collins glasses, and mugs, all of which are intended to be filled with resin tinted to look like popular mixed drinks. These models are not just reminiscent of alcoholic drinks—they are drinks, being labeled as “espresso martini”, “mango margarita”, “blue Hawaiian”, etc. They are not even set aside for hobbyist stores: they are sold in prominent endcap racks at Target and other all-ages, big box retailers and Amazon online.
Kids coming to think of alcohol as toys holds many risks, including:
- Trivializing the idea of a 21+ drinking age
- Encouraging interest in the alcoholic products in the store
- Training them to be excited by alcohol marketing from an early age
- Playing into the most cynical industry playbook: making new customers when they’re young
And slapping a ridiculous "21+ Adults Only" message on the packaging only increases a young person's interest. No retailer - big box store or online - is going to check for age verification on a product that does not contain alcohol but most surely poses a threat to the children who collect the Miniverse line.
Target is first and foremost a family store. Please join us in telling Target CEO Brian Cornell and MGA CEO Isaac Larian, DON’T PLAY WITH OUR KIDS’ LIVES. Please stop making and marketing Miniverse “Happy Hour” toys!