In response to an online petition by a teen girl, Hasbro (NASDAQ:) is coming out with a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven.
McKenna Pope, who’s 13, started an online petition to change the classic children’s cooking toy and got more than 40,000 signatures, . She also attracted some celebrity attention when chef Bobby Flay, famous for his shows on Food Network (NYSE:
), gave Pope his support.
Her petition complained that, while she was shopping for a gift for her 4-year-old brother, she could find Easy-Bake Oven only in purple or pink. Hasbro executives took note and eventually invited McKenna and her family to its headquarters to view a prototype for a new Easy-Bake Oven, now in black, silver or blue.
“I think that they really met most or even all of what I wanted them to do, and they really amazed me,” Pope told AP. The company is even putting boys in its ads for the toy.
The Easy-Bake Oven is a classic toy. First launched in 1963, it has gone through many color schemes over the years. Hasbro says the new colors will be on shelves by next summer.
