# Toymaker Gives Kids the Finger **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 1999, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013 "1999-11-10T20:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47774/32.png) [@Otis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/1 "1999-11-10T20:34:00Z")
Unlike the “Toy Story II” thread, this is not a hoax: TOY MAKER OFFERS ‘ONE-FINGER’ SALUTE TO CHILDREN Today, the American Family Association criticized Flambeau Corporation, parent company of Duncan Toy Company, the largest maker and distributor of yo-yos in the U.S., for it’s newest sales pitch…‘The Finger.’ 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.” 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, MI 44062 Ph 800-356-8396 (Flambeau Corp.) Ph 800-232-3474 (Duncan Toys) Fax 440-632-1581 E-mail: [info@yo-yo.com](mailto:info@yo-yo.com) [mailto:info@yo-yo.com](mailto:info@yo-yo.com) 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. The commercial began airing last week on the partially Disney-owned cable network E! Entertainment channel. * * * “Stop the rope and let me in or I’ll go out and get some gin” ---
**Author:** ![kknick34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kknick34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kknick34)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/2 "1999-11-10T20:37:00Z")
My Bullshit detecter is going off! ---
**Author:** ![Otis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47774/32.png) [@Otis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otis)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/3 "1999-11-10T20:40:00Z")
False alarm. I’m on the e-mail alert list for the American Family Association. It’s great for kicks and giggles. This is the real thing, straight from the AFA to my mailbox. * * * “Stop the rope and let me in or I’ll go out and get some gin” ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 1999, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/4 "1999-11-10T20:47:00Z")
I’ve seen the commercials… the main guy has a nice mowhawk. * * * Magnificent to behold - Greatly to be praised. ---
**Author:** ![Moonshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Moonshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonshine)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 1999, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/5 "1999-11-11T11:42:00Z")
Hey, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it, its as simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 1999, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/6 "1999-11-11T22:36:00Z")
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 1999, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/7 "1999-11-11T23:10:00Z")
As something of a yo-yo afficinado, I feel I should point out that the middle finger is the prefered terminus for a yo-yo string. I hope the AFA isn’t advising parents to make their children use another finger. I can think of nothing more tragic than a child knocking out his front teeth because mommy has insisted he attatch his yo-yo to the notoriously unstable index finger. That said, Duncan sells the cheapest and crappiest yo-yos on the market. Any parent too cheap to pony up a few extra bucks for a BC or Yomega yo-yo deserves to be flipped off by their kids! ---
**Author:** ![meredith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@meredith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meredith)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 1999, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/8 "1999-11-13T05:31:00Z")
If anybody is still interested, you can find the commercial here: [http://www.afa.net/alert/aa991112.htm](http://www.afa.net/alert/aa991112.htm) . ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 1999, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/9 "1999-11-13T05:55:00Z")
Do you remember the E.T. fingers that lite up and were sold as a kid’s toy. They were ment for kids , but looked like a sex toy. ---
**Author:** ![MarkSerlin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@MarkSerlin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkSerlin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 1999, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toymaker-gives-kids-the-finger/11013/10 "1999-11-14T04:55:00Z")
A lady friend of mine knows about those ‘fingers’ real well. Especially with the lights out. * * * Mark “Think of it as Evolution in action.”