Teen Wins Fight for Less 'Girly' Easy-Bake Oven

Hasbro adjusts colors, marketing in wake of McKenna Pope's campaign
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2012 8:05 AM CST
Teen Wins Fight for Less 'Girly' Easy-Bake Oven
In this photo provided by Hasbro, McKenna Pope poses in front of earlier models of the Easy-Bake Oven during her trip to the Hasbro headquarters in Pawtucket, RI, Dec. 17, 2012.   (AP Photo/Hasbro)

A 13-year-old girl who complained to Hasbro that its purple and pink Easy-Bake Ovens needed to be a little more unisex for her 4-year-old brother has won: Thanks to her online petition, Hasbro is releasing a blue, silver, and black version—and adding boys to advertisements for the classic toy, the AP reports. "They really met most or even all of what I wanted them to do," says McKenna Pope of New Jersey. Brother Gavyn's reaction to the design? "Awesome."

McKenna's Change.org petition garnered 40,000 signatures as well as celebrity backing from chef Bobby Flay. The oven has been available in all kinds of colors since its 1963 debut, says the company's chief marketing officer; the latest is purple and pink. "It's actually a product that's played with by both boys and girls," he says. "We will continue to offer the existing product, too, because it's so popular." The new version should appear in stores next summer. (More Easy-Bake Oven stories.)

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