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Ebola Toy

American company sells out of Ebola themed toys

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By Ishbel Macleod, PR and social media consultant

October 19, 2014 | 2 min read

Giant Microbes, an American company, has sold out of its range of Ebola themed toys, with its head of marketing insisting it has not seen any backlash from stocking the range.

Ebola toy

Describing the toys as “a uniquely contagious gift” that can help you learn “all about this fearsome frontpage disease”, the range has been available for five years and includes two sizes of an Ebola doll and a mock ‘Ebola Petri Dish’.

Laura Sullivan, vice-president of marketing for Giant Microbes, told the Toronto Star: “With Ebola and everything that is going on, people are interested about learning more and this product provides a way for people to learn about it.

“I think that we have a responsibility to market Ebola very responsibly. Anyone putting out a product around sensitive issues has a responsibility to market the product sensitively and responsibly.

“People are buying it to talk about it and if we ever felt it was being used inappropriately, we would reconsider it.”

Over 4,500 people have died from the disease.

Ebola Toy

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