Look, it's Ken's "Buddy" Allan! ("All of Ken's clothes fit him!")
This is my all-time favorite example of unintended scandal in advertising. I assume that this tagline somehow sounded okay in the 60s, but come on - those quotation marks are provocative regardless of the decade, because they're just so unnecessary*
Now via Pure Pedantry, I've discovered that there is an entire blog devoted to gratuitous quotation marks and their unintended consequences.
Wonderful! I laughed and laughed this morning. Definitely worth adding to the blogroll.
The "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks
*Alas, there do not appear to be quotation marks around "buddy" after all - some commenters have suggested it's a trademark and copyright symbol instead. So sad! But the blog is still hilarious.
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Why do you think it was unintentional?
Uh, I think the implication is unintentional because it's a children's toy being mass-marketed in an era in which homosexuality was totally unacceptable to mainstream America.
On the top of the box we can clearly see Allan taking off his shirt, while Ken stands behind him with a big grin on his face ...
You never heard of subversive tactics?
Oh yeah - Mattel is *totally* a subversive organization. Even more so in the sixties, I'm sure.
Allan's got a nice bondage wristlet on his left arm!
The blog of unnecessary quotation marks is one of my all time favorites. It's perfect geek humor. I saw Allan on that blog recently and saved the image for future comic use!