A Fisher-Price "Happy Hour" Playset, complete with a "pretend bar, bar stools and beer bottles" sent parents into a spin over the weekend - many slamming the company for creating such an "inappropriate" toy
A photo of the product, marketed for ages 3 and up, went viral after comedian Amiri King shared it with his two million Facebook followers.
And the criticism came thick and fast.
"Starting bad habits early..." wrote one commenter. "Can't believe they make this horrible stuff for kids.. To each [sic] own as for me I wouldn't get this for my babies, cute as a grown up concept tho."
"To all parents in the world: Don't buy Fisher-Price's products," another parent wrote. "Look! And ban them forever! Let's [sic] that company die."
As it turns out, however, the outrage was completely unnecessary. After furious parents took to the company's Facebook and Twitter accounts to complain about the baby bar set, Fisher Price confirmed that it was, in fact, a fake.
"In the last few weeks some comical, yet fictional, Fisher-Price products have been introduced – perhaps the result of adult writers, designers and comedians that were Fisher-Price kids themselves," Amber Pietrobono, public relations manager for Fisher-Price, told CBS News.
"As a premiere childhood development company focused on helping families get the best possible start in life, we take our role in developing toys and products very seriously, but can appreciate the recent product development suggestions as obvious love of the brand."
The picture was originally created by Adam Padilla, co-founder of a branding agency. Padilla also runs an instagram account under "Adam the Creator" where he creates and shares various original memes.
"I put it up there, and it got ok results," Padilla told Buzzfeed of his Playset post. "Then about three or four days later, I got a message, one of my friends said 'Hey, your Happy Hour Playset was on the news.'"
For Padilla, the viral image is a reminder not to believe everything you read online. "You have to consider the source," he said, " and if you see something that's shared on Facebook, it doesn't mean it's definitely true."
Hold on ... something on the internet might not be true?
As one commenter wrote of the drama, "Watching people freak out over this fake toy this week has been FISHER PRICELESS!"
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