So I'm at Wal Mart in Commerce City, CO looking for a gift for a friend and start rummaging through the T Shirt section not looking for anything in particular, just killing some time. Suddenly I notice this familiar looking skull peeking out at me. "Surely it can't be..." I think to myself. Oh, it is.... I grab it and pull it out; there it is in all its glory. It's like finding a piece of history. Nazi Wal Mart history.

Recent updates to this story.
Backstory.

So I took my wife over to the Wal*mart store in Chelmsford, MA for some cheap, low-quality Chinese goods, and as we were walking out I spotted the now infamous 3rd division Totenkopf logo high atop the men's clothing department's shelves. I walked over to the wall, and it appears that while they actually took the shirts off the shelves, the logo itself is still being proudly displayed among the other non-nazi designs. Talk about missing the point!

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Backstory.

I was down in Washington doing the tourist thing, this past weekend, May 18-21...

We were staying in the Fairfield Inn by Marriott off Old Ox blvd, and Pacific ave off Highway 28 just north of Dulles Airport.

Just north of our hotel was a walmart, in the Dulles Towne Center, checking through the clearance racks in the men's department, I found three of the Nazi T-shirts 2 XXL, and 1 XXXL all priced at $5.50. I grabbed the triple XL and went to the cash, At the cash of course the prohibit sale came up and the cashier would not sell me the shirt.

No one seemed too concerned about this shirt.

They are still out there.

Since Wal-Mart seems to have trouble finding these shirts, here's a map of where Don's was. — BEN POPKEN

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22 weeks after Walmart agreed to remove shirts bearing Nazi iconography from its shelves, and 13 weeks after getting a letter from Congress demanding the shirts removal, they're still there. S.G.W. found some in Indianapolis, took a video, and writes:

I went to walmart to buy some shirts for work then looked at the t-shirts. Where I found the Nazi shirt. I tried to buy it, but the register do not sell. The lady wouldn't sell it. Then I came home, emailed Ben and then went back to take a pic. It wasn't very hard. Except they only had yesterdays newspaper. I then decided to switch the peel on tag and proceeded to purchase it with no problems. Also my Bulldog Chilly is Protesting and will not be shopping at Walmart.

Hey, here's an idea for another fun scavenger hunt. Try to find and send in pics of of recalled pet food still sitting on the shelves. Now that we've honed our finding skills, let's apply 'em to something that could actually save a life!

Recent updates to this story.
Backstory.

— BEN POPKEN

Amanda's sister found a whole bunch in Ohio:

I had nearly forgotten about the whole thing when I received a call from my sister, Ali, in Bowling Green, Ohio. Apparently, they have a whole stack of the shirts! She described them very accurately on the phone, so I instructed her to buy a couple, and take lots of pictures.

She initially had some difficulty, but after flirting with the checkout guy, managed to purchase one.

Attached is a picture she took in the store, and a couple of pics of the shirt after she got it home. ...

Anyway, boo walmart, yay consumerist!

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Backstory.

— BEN POPKEN

The Edelman team assigned to Wal-Mart, I learned, is divided into three groups: "promote," "response," and "pressure." The Jobs and Opportunity Zones notion came from the promotions team. The response-team members—veterans of political campaigns—are supposed to quickly counter criticism in the press or on the Web. The pressure group works on opposition research, focussing on the unions and the press.

There is great mistrust of the press at Wal-Mart headquarters. The chief spokeswoman for the company, a former A. T. & T. executive named Mona Williams, keeps on a shelf a framed cover of a 2003 issue of Business Week featuring a story titled "Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful?" The story asked tough questions about Wal-Mart's influence on the American economy. "I keep that there to remind me never to trust reporters," she said, without smiling

The New Yorker article is great, with far too many interesting revelations to summarize here. We will say, however, that we love Edelman's response to the "Walmarting Across America" scandal in which the sister of an Edelman exec was paid to travel the country in an RV and write "a blog" about the happy Walmart workers she encountered:

When I asked Richard Edelman, the company's chairman, about this rather blatant example of Astroturfing, he said, of Working Families for Wal-Mart, "I do believe that it is a real group of real people, as far as I know.

Selling Wal-Mart [New Yorker]
(Photo: cmorran123)

We called 20 of the 25 stores where readers photographed the Nazi shirts. Five of the stores still had the shirts.

Those Walmarts are in Marrieta GA, Naperville, IL, Durham, NC, Ledgewood, NJ, and Cordova, TN.

Despite a letter from Congress and Walmart's firm vow to resolve the issue, the retailer evidently continues to have difficulty communicating policy from upper management to store managers to floor personnel.

Walmart PR people, here's what you do.

1) Get a big list out with every single Walmart's phone number.
2) Call up and ask for the Men's department. Identify the shirt and ask if you can get it in a large.
3) If the shirt is still there, speak to the manager and tell him to remove the shirt.
4) Wait a week.
5) Repeat steps 1-4 as many times as necessary.

It's easy. You could have some interns do it, really. Give it a shot. — BEN POPKEN

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(Photo: daberkman)

Reaching down for a second pot, he said, he felt a sudden pain, and after lifting up his arm, discovered the rattler "still hanging on to my finger."

"I freaked out a little and tried to flip it off me," he recalled, but in the process "stepped backwards on to my shopping cart," falling on to some patio stones and injuring his back.

Seven snake bites and no action from Walmart?

• One bite, fine, a snake escaped from a bog.
• Two bites, the snake had a friend.
• Three bites, call Edelman.
• Four bites, stop wondering why employees are quitting.
• Five bites, call Edelman again. This time, leave a message.
• Six bites, call KFC, borrow some snake bait.
• Seven bites? No, there is no excuse for letting a snake bite seven of your customers. None.

Said Page, "I have no doubt this will happen again." To paraphrase, "I have had it with these motherf#cking snakes in this motherf#cking Walmart!" — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

Wal-Mart Rattlesnake Victim Issues Warning [Local6.com]

In a letter to Wal-Mart Chief Executive H. Lee Scott Jr., Schakowsky (D-Ill.) asked company officials to tell Congress what steps they are taking to remove the remaining shirts that display the Nazi Totenkopf—the "death head" emblem worn by soldiers in Adolf Hitler's personal guard—from store shelves. Twenty-one other lawmakers from both parties also signed the letter.

"Everyone agreed that these shirts have to go, including Wal-Mart; it's just that they didn't do anything about it," Schakowsky said. "Either at the time they really weren't serious, or their capacity to do that is limited, which makes one wonder about recalls of potentially dangerous products."

...Despite the corporate order, it appears the shirts were never removed from at least three dozen of Wal-Mart's 3,300 U.S. stores, according to Consumerist.com, which has been tracking discoveries of the shirts....

...Yet as recently as Thursday, bloggers at Consumerist.com were fielding reports from readers who said they had successfully purchased the shirts from Wal-Marts.

"The average blue-vest employee just isn't aware of it," said Consumerist.com editor Ben Popken, who explained that when bar codes failed, readers..."

... easily persuaded employees to scan similarly priced items, or did so themselves at self-checkout counters.

Popken says he also blames unconscientious fashion designers, who likely saw the emblem of death as just another in-vogue skull-and-crossbones design, with the added bonus of being a copyright-free image. "The skull-and-crossbones is popular," he said, "but designers need to be aware of the history of the iconography that they're appropriating ad hoc."

Consumerist readers, for the win. A great example of the power of blogs to make a difference. With our low overhead, we're able to stick with a story and follow it through to the bitter end, even after the AP and CNN wrote it off as a done deal. We collected reports from readers across the country, slowly compiling evidence of Walmart's unwillingness and/or inability to properly conduct a product recall. A hill source tells us that Walmart Watch, who reads The Consumerist, were the ones that tipped off Schakowsky's office.

Presumably after the issue reached a peak (we think mention of the issue in our recent article in the New York Times probably was the catalyst), they were able to point to our mountain of evidence and get Schakowsky, and the members of Congress who joined her, involved.

Way to go peoples. Looking forward to seeing how we can apply what we learned from this campaign to the next one. — BEN POPKEN

Wal-Mart under fire again for T-shirts with Nazi logo [Chicago Tribune]

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Backstory.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was not aware of the origins of the image when we stocked the t-shirt in question.

Respect for the individual is a core value of our company and we would never have placed this t-shirt on our shelves had we known the origin and significance of this emblem.

We immediately began pulling all t-shirts from the store shelves 11 weeks ago and have reached 99.5% compliance. Our records show that some 1100 shirts remain in the system, although we have issued a register restriction so the shirts cannot be purchased.

When we heard yesterday that some stores still had some of the shirts in inventory, we reissued the return-to-vendor directive. Our fashion merchandising team will reiterate the issue in their weekly video to stores.

If the records showed that the shirts were still in the system, then why were they allowed to remain on the shelves? Certainly not out of "respect for the individual." — BEN POPKEN

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"SCHAKOWSKY LETTER TO WAL-MART CEO: REMOVE SHIRTS WITH NAZI INSIGNIA FROM YOUR SHELVES

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky was today joined by a bi-partisan group of Members of Congress in sending a letter to Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott expressing concern over reports that t-shirts bearing Nazi insignia remain on the shelves of some of its retail outlet locations. In November, Wal-Mart committed to removing the product from its shelves, but reports this week suggested that the retailer had yet to meet that commitment."

Inside, the letter Rep. Schakowsky circulated to other members of the House and the letter to Walmart CEO Lee Scott...

The following members of Congress signed the letter: Corrine Brown (D-FL), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Diane Watson (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), Charles A. Wilson, Jr. (D-OH), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Steve Israel (D-NY), Barney Frank (D-MA), Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI) and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL).

Urge Wal-Mart to Remove Nazi Insignias from its Shelves

T-Shirts on a Wal-Mart Shelf Nazi SS 3rd Division Totenkopf Symbol

Dear Colleague:

Please join me in sending the attached letter to Wal-Mart President and CEO, H. Lee Scott, Jr., urging him to inform Congress about what steps he is currently taking and will take to ensure that T-shirts with this Nazi insignia are not sold in his stores.

An Associated Press report on November 13, 2006, indicated that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. had agreed to immediately remove T-shirts that display the insignia of Nazi Germany's 3rd SS Division Totenkopf from its shelves. A Wal-Mart spokesman acknowledged last year, "We would never have placed this T-shirt on our shelves had we known the origin and significance of this emblem." Unfortunately, reports suggest that the product remains on Wal-Mart shelves.

To add your name to this letter please contact [redacted]@mail.house.gov in my office.

Sincerely,

Jan Schakowsky
February 08, 2007

Mr. H. Lee Scott, Jr.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

702 S.W. 8th Street
Bentonville, AR 72716

Dear Mr. Scott:

We were pleased to learn from an Associated Press report on November 13, 2006, that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. had agreed to immediately remove T-shirts from its shelves that display the insignia of Nazi Germany's 3rd SS Division Totenkopf. As your spokesman David Tovar acknowledged last year, "We would never have placed this T-shirt on our shelves had we known the origin and significance of this emblem."

Unfortunately, reports this week suggest that the product remains on your retailer's shelves. We are gravely dismayed about Wal-Mart's inaction on its pledge to remove this product from its stores, and we ask that you take immediate steps to comply with last November's commitment to remove this offensive merchandise from your shelves.

The Holocaust was the most horrific human atrocity the world saw during the last century and perhaps in the history of the planet. However, genocide and hate remain amongst us today. It is critical that we remember the Nazis' crimes and take action to prevent future atrocities.

Therefore, we respectfully request that you inform us about the actions you are taking and will take to ensure that this type of product is not sold in your stores. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to hearing from you within the next 30 days.

Sincerely,

###

— BEN POPKEN

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Backstory.

This week, Hayden has a very interesting confrontation in Valdosta, GA. He tells a customer service manager, Rhonda, that the shirts were recalled due to the Nazi symbol. Rhonda takes them off, but then her manager, Tim, tells Rhonda to put them back on the shelf on as he hasn't received any email about them. Hayden calls corporate to complain, and within minutes Tim receives a letter from the President ordering him to remove the shirts.

...Jonathan takes the totenkuchen with a series of delightful portraits at a Walmart in Marietta, GA.

...and Associate Editor Meghann Marco embarrasses a Walmart store manager in Elgin, IL.

Their stories and pictures, inside...

Rob on 2/04/07 in Hamilton, NJ writes:

When I asked one of the workers about it - she folded up the shirt I had taken down, put it back and the shelf and said "Ok....ok...will look into it....."

Meghann on 2/05/07 in Elgin, IL writes:

meghannmarco: ok so
meghannmarco: The t-shirts were there
meghannmarco: and one of them was marked "RECALL CANT SELL"
meghannmarco: chris tried to buy it
benpopken: interesting
meghannmarco: the manager looked embarassed and wouldn't sell it
meghannmarco: she said "It must be something wrong with the material."
benpopken: certainly is
meghannmarco: And wouldn't make eye contact
meghannmarco: we have some camera phone pics
meghannmarco: Wal-Mart Store #1814 - 1001 North Randall Road - Elgin, IL 60123 - (847) 468-9600
meghannmarco: I can't believe they were actually marked recall

Hayden on 2/05/07 in Valdosta, GA writes:

So I went to WalMart tonight, Walmart #899 in Valdosta, GA.

Guess what I spotted in the men's t-shirt display? You guessed it.

This is how it went down:

I went to Customer Service with one of the lovely shirts in question and asked to speak to a manager. Rhonda, a 'CSM' (Customer Service Manager), approached me and I explained that Wal-Mart Corporate had promised to stop selling these t-shirts because they mistakenly used a Nazi symbol in the design, but somehow they remained on the shelves here. I accompanied her to the t-shirt rack where we collected all the shirts. We returned to Customer Service where we met Tim, one of the store Assistant Managers. I explained the situation and asked him to remove the shirts as promised. He disappeared for a few moments into the back office and then returned. He stated he had no email regarding these shirts and that they had not 'been recalled'. He then directed Rhonda to replace the shirts and asked me to direct any further to the Home Office at 1-800-Wal-Mart.

I immediately called 1-800-Wal-Mart and spoke with a Customer Relations representative (6 minute hold time), I explained the situation and she said she would forward it to upper management for future action and that I could expect a follow-up call in the next couple days. I was not satisfied though. I decided I would try to buy the shirts, knowing full well they would not ring up, and that Rhonda and then Tim would need to be summoned again. But I thought once they saw that they could not be sold, maybe then they would take them off the floor. I felt bad putting the check-out attendant and the people in line behind me in the middle of this, but finally after seeing 'No Sale Allowed', Rhonda called Tim, who relented and pulled the shirts off the shelf. About fifteen minutes later, Tim found me in the store and asked for my name and number. Someone at the Home Office at 1-800-Wal-Mart had contacted him and forwarded him a letter from the President of the company regarding the shirts. He apologized and said the shirts would not be put out again and that he needed my information for any follow-up that might be required.

I have included photos of the t-shirts on the shelf, one with me, and one with the CSM Rhonda putting the shirts back on the shelf after Tim, the Assistant Manager, said that the nazi logo shirts had not been 'recalled' and that he hadn't gotten any sort of message about them. Interestingly when Rhonda put them up, she put the paper display in sideways.

Jonathan on 2/06/07 in Marrieta, GA writes:

A few shots of the shirt found at a Wal-Mart in Marietta, GA. Also, one with a cat, and several of me holding the shirt, displaying the myriad of emotions that only a crazy rollercoaster of a Nazi t-shirt half-assed recall can bring. Enjoy!

Lykan on 2/07/07 in Phoenix, AZ writes:

Yo Ben went to Wal-mart today and while looking thru the shirts found the Nazi shirt. Thought I'd share it with you! This picture was taken 02/07/07. Later.

— BEN POPKEN

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Backstory.

Based on photographic evidence sent in by Consumerist readers over the past twelve weeks, here are some of the Walmarts experiencing training issues:

Phoenix, AZ
Santa Maria, CA
Lancaster, CA
Jacksonville, FL
Rome, GA
Americus, GA
Marietta, GA
Valdosta, GA
Columbus, IA
Elgin, IL
Naperville, IL
Durham, NC
Salem, NH
Hamilton, NJ
Piscataway, NJ
Ledgewood, NJ
Rochester, NY
Farlawn, OH
Cleveland Heights, OH
Shaumburg, PA
Cordova, TN
Lubbock, TX
Houston, TX
Neenah, WI

— BEN POPKEN

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Backstory.

Please tell me those are not still on the shelves. I haven't received a call about them in a long time,

says Walmart spokesperson Marisa Bluestone in the article.

How can Walmart HQ claim to not know the shirts are still on the shelves? We've been running posts about them for twelve weeks. We know for a fact that Walmart actively monitors this site. Therefore, Walmart is lying.

Full scans of the article, inside...

Click to enlarge.

(Thanks to Rob!)

— BEN POPKEN

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Backstory.

We particularly enjoyed one entry by Thaddeus'. The plopped shirts arranged in triptych grant the scene the air of roguish insouciance we've come to know and love Walmart for. Well played.

As for the rest of you, please, step back from the shirts a bit when you take the pictures. Let's get some WIDE shots. You don't need to press the lens right up against the fabric. Trust us, it will look cooler.

This week's carnival of indifference, inside.

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Backstory.

Rob in Hobbs, NM writes on 1/27/07:

Found myself at Wal-Mart today, a rare enough occurrence, and came face-to-face with the bugger turning a corner!

Thaddeus in Naperville, IL writes on 1/27/07:

I was out at one of our local WalMarts with my brother. Knowing about the shirt, we decided to see if they had any. They did. As with previous individuals, we went to the self checkout. A "See Cashier for Assistance" came up on the screen.

The cashier was able to override the register, ringing it up as TSHIRTTT, and we were able to buy the shirt. They had at least five others.

Just for the record the only reason I bought it was because of all the hoop-la. Normally I have no use for a t-shirt, especially one with something on it, but I just had to buy this one just because I'm not supposed to be able to.

Fred in Jacksonville, FL writes on 1/28/07:

I wasn't planning on purchasing it but I took it to the counter anyway to see if it would ring up. Got the do not sell error, the lady just looked at me and said, "You can't buy it." I told her I was just checking and walked out. I was so surprised to find the shirt I forgot why I went in the store in the first place.

And now Virgin Megastore is getting in on the act. Kevin sent this on January 30th, spotted in Virgin Megastore in San Francisco, CA.

— BEN POPKEN

Ahh, Edelman. From the flogs, to the bullshit promise to remove the Nazi T-shirts, to well, we think CNN said it best when they said:

By year's end Wal-Mart suffers its first quarterly profit drop in a decade, sees same-store sales decline in November's run-up to the crucial holiday shopping season, and suffers a series of public relations gaffes so stunning that it lands six spots in this year's edition of the 101 Dumbest Moments.

101 Dumbest Moments In Business [CNN](Thanks, Bill!)

RELATED:
Edelman: How We Taught The World That Illegal Downloading Is A No-No
How Do You Get Walmart To Pay For Your Family Vacation?
Walmart Apologizes For Selling Nazi Tshirts

We're going to limit ourselves to weekly roundups from now on.

We rather enjoy Philip's above. Good direction. More wide angle shots. Let's see this shirt in action.

On a related note, if anyone got a shot of a cat sitting on a Walmart Nazi shirt, Meghann said she'll explode with love.

Five submissions this week, inside...

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Backstory.

On 12/23/07, Philip in Neenah, WI, writes:

On 1/22/07, Tim in Cordova, TN writes:

On 1/21/07, Naval in Lubbock, TX writes:

On 1/19/07, NIck in Houston, TX writes:

On 1/15/07, Matthew in Rome, GA writes:

You would think these would be easier to get off the shelves than anime porn. They don't even have any tentacles that you need to pry. — BEN POPKEN

From the video:
"What there was was a complete lack of was a peer-to-peer dialog about illegally downloading music and why it was wrong." No peer-to-peer dialog. None.

"We wanted to get people to think before they act, so how did we do that? We talked to them in focus groups."

"I'll never forget being at the Staples Center when Neil Portnow the president of the Recording Academy introduced our PSA and our Campaign to millions of people." Way to go, Edelman. The dialog is hereby reframed. Nice use of stock footage of Tower Records, too. —MEGHANN MARCO

We're sending the small one to Sony, and the big one to Zipatoni!

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unboxing pix, inside...

Patrick in Santa Maria, CA writes:

"I found the following Nazi shirt at the Santa Maria, CA store today (01/16/07 3PM) and it was most likely the only one as I glanced around and didn't see any others right way.. It was folded up. I didn't want to try buying it even though I know many others had a chance to do so I took a picture with my cell phone. I have been following this story for a while now and I didn't think I would find one. I was surprised that I did! "

The story has taken on a life of its own. Chuga chuga, choo, choo. — BEN POPKEN

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Backstory.

Jason in Columbus, Indiana writes:

"I stopped in my local Wal-Mart this morning in Columbus, Ind., and happened by the t-shirts to see if the Nazi skulls were still here. There were about 20 shirts still on the shelf. I didn't try to buy one, but thought of you and took a photo instead."

When the guy last week reported that he was able to buy a Totenkopf shirt by making the cashier scan a comparable shirt, we were worried. Were we encouraging what we tried to prevent?

Then we had an image of some guys at a bar, wearing these shirts. Whether they be neo-fascists or hipsters, the value of peoples going around saying, hey, check out my Nazi shirt I got at Walmart could be even greater than simply removing all the shirts. Money can't buy that kind of word of mouth. — BEN POPKEN

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Hacking Walmart to buy totenkopf shirts at a discount, signs of a true Consumerist reader. — BEN POPKEN

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Backstory.

Rising to three times the price tag points to genuine scarcity - Walmart's removing the shirt from the system is working - and genuine interest. Looking at the item history of several of the Totenkopf eBay bidders show they've bought Nazi paraphernalia in the past.

$30 is about the same change a cool designer tshirt sold by Beautiful/Decay will run you. On a related note, Matt points out that even the streetwear scene is getting in on the act, with a company called "Zoltar The Magnicient" releasing a totenkopf hoodie. A party they threw in Milan last year featured a neon totenkopf, an electric chair, and a guillotine.

Though, we're sure it's all meant to be tongue-in-Nazi-chic. — BEN POPKEN

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Backstory.

We particularly enjoy the Walmart cashier's expression. Probably seconds before she told John, "you can't take pictures in Walmart." John writes:

John's letter continues inside...

John continues:

Recent updates to this story.
Backstory.

— BEN POPKEN

Sony takes the golden poo, because they should have known better. We know that Walmart and McDonalds are creepy and they have few scruples about exploiting a medium to gain market share, but Sony is supposed to be better. Sure, they can come across as a little cold and bitchy, but at least "cool." Not engaging in the lamest attempt to do a pretend customer blog the world has ever seen.

Now, where do we deliver this award? Do we mail it to the CEO? To the company that made the blog? Where o where do we fling our golden poo?

CONTENDERS' FLOGS

McDonald's, for 4Railroads and Mcdmillionwinner
Walmart, for Walmarting Across America
Sony, for All I Want For Xmas Is A PSP

AFTERTHOUGHTS

While pretend sites and stunts are common in video game marketing, there's a difference between spinning an engaging story virally and outright duplicity.

Douchebags are attracted by the cost/benefit ratio and they go, "Wow, we could spend $500 on a video and become an internet sensation!"

Instead, people should be asking, "How can we use these really powerful and interesting tools to tell a better story?"

To take full advantage of blogs, companies should stop hiring b-school and j-school dropouts or former web developers, and start grabbing up hungry English majors. — BEN POPKEN

Since nobody should be allowed to move on from their mistakes, we're holding a knife fight to see who had the "best" flog of 2006.

Contestants...

McDonald's, for 4Railroads and Mcdmillionwinner
Walmart, for Walmarting Across America
Sony, for All I Want For Xmas Is A PSP

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

The winner receives a golden feces. — BEN POPKEN

Previously: Announcing The Floggies

He writes:

"It was at 6 am this morning (12/27), and I thought I'd pass it along. I thought about asking one of the employees, but I didn't want to bother these night-shift workers who already don't want to be there."

Recent updates to this story.
Backstory.

Forty-one days after t-shirts bearing Nazi insignia were discovered in Walmart, the retailer has yet to remove them from all their stores, despite promises to do so within days. Amanda spotted this one today in Farlawn, OH.

She writes:

Dear Walmart,
Why are you crushing so hard on Nazis?

Yours Truly,
Humanity.

— BEN POPKEN

Recent updates to this story.
Backstory.

We will mail the winning company a magnificent trophy. For now, we're thinking of taking a dump in a box and spray painting it gold.

For your consideration....

McDonald's, for 4Railroads and Mcdmillionwinner
Walmart, for Walmarting Across America
Sony, for All I Want For Xmas Is A PSP

Submit your nominations in the comments or tips@consumerist.com. Winners will be decided by reader vote next week. — BEN POPKEN

He writes:

It's really pathetic that such a powerful retailer can't remove a simple shirt from all its shelves, especially after initially promising to do so in days. What if it poked your eyes out? — BEN POPKEN

Recent updates to this story.
Backstory.

"Skull emblems are huge sellers these days, so Scott Deutsch had no problem placing 50,000 T-shirts emblazoned with a distinctive version of the gory symbol in Wal-Mart...

''We would never have done that shirt if we had known,'' said Deutsch, president of Miami-based Orange Clothing Company, a manufacturer of young men's apparel. ``Furthermore, I'm Jewish.'"

The article goes on to say that Deutch's company, Orange Clothing Co, found the skull in a "European trend book."

Just when you thought the story couldn't get any stranger, or longer, whammo.

The only question is, what to do with the returned shirts cramming Deutch's warehouses? Perhaps they can insulate his room, in hell. The hell for hack designers. — BEN POPKEN

Nazi shirt was an accident, Miami designer says [Miami Herald]

Papercutninja tried to buy one in Piscataway, NJ, and the register bleeped, "SALE NOT ALLOWED."

Huzzah! Good job Walmart, finally.

Now Walmart just needs to get cracking on throwing the rest of the shirts in the ovens. — BEN POPKEN

Recent updates to this story.
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He writes:

— BEN POPKEN

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"I found myself at walmart in Cleveland Heights Ohio the other day [Sunday, Nov 26] picking up a new office chair... (ended up going to office max anyway... but that's another story) I was kinda surprised to see the totenkopf shirts still on sale there... so I snapped a quick pic with my phone... sorry for the poor quality but the razr isnt anything great for taking photos. Anyway... thought you might like to know that Cleveland walmarts all seem to have ignored any instruction they may have received regarding taking the shirts off the shelves."

— BEN POPKEN

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Casey spotted some on Saturday, Nov 25, and writes:

"i understand you're a bit sick of covering this story, but i went to wal-mart today (ledgewood, nj) and they still have the neo-nazi shirt on display! i mean, this isn't some random small town, it's suburban new jersey. this is getting a little ridiculous, isn't it?"

How long will it take Walmart to take down the shirts? We don't know, how long ago was 1978? That might be an indicator. — BEN POPKEN

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Backstory.

After a blogger found Walmart sold tshirts with Nazi skulls on them, a Walmart PR rep sent us a note.

"Meghann:

Good morning. My name is Marshall Manson. I work for Edelman doing online public affairs for Wal-Mart. I noticed your post about the t-shirts that Wal-Mart is selling. I wanted to make sure you saw the company's statement about this and knew that Wal-Mart is now removing the t-shirts from its stores. Obviously, with a company as big as Wal-Mart, that may take a day or two.

The statement is just below. If you would like to discuss anything, feel free to respond to this e-mail.

Statement from Wal-Mart:

We were not aware of the origins of the image until this morning when we learned about it through the blog Bent Corner.

We are deeply sorry that this happened, and we are in the process of pulling all of these t-shirts from our stores.

Respect for the individual is a core value of our company and we would never have placed this t-shirt on our shelves had we known the origin and significance of this emblem.

We are reviewing our product review process in an effort to ensure this never happens again.

Sincerely,

Marshall Manson
Edelman"

Someone needs to go and buy one of these shirts, quick. Just one question, is Mike Krempasky a medium or a large? — BEN POPKEN

Related:
• Walmart's Nazi Past
• Who Designed Walmart's Nazi T-shirt?
• Walmart Nazi Shirts Available Online (Sorta)
• Walmart's Nazi Tshirt, Compare and Contrast
• Walmart Sells Nazi Skull Tshirt

You know, all transparent like...

something_amazing: hey, ben, in your opinion does edelman coming out with these blogs indicate that there may be some sort of internal backlash against krempasky since he was head of the blogging division?
fakeout: nope, they're outing themselves before anyone else has a chance to
something_amazing: well it would seem to me that if Krempasky where the one who was heading much of this "blog reach out" program, and this was a big smear back in the face of Edelman that there may be some inclination of internal upset against krempasky?
something_amazing: ie: a good portion of Krempasky's entire job for Edelman has just been reset to ground zero.
something_amazing: And it may have served to issue bad water to Edelman regarding using blogs as a PR tool in the future. Enough to the point where Krempasky may be worried about his job.
fakeout: Mmm that's reaching. I think it's more like Richard Edelman said: "fix this shit. " But if they're smart, they will use this as a lesson to reevalutate how to use blogs. They've established so much equity as being the PR agency that "gets" blogs.
something_amazing: Yeah, at the very least. I mean if Richard Edelman is coming out and essentially apologizing, then there has to be some indication that he's not happy with it. And you're right about reevaluating but what will it amount to, full disclosures or just trying to become sneakier?
fakeout: There's too much invested to abandon wholesale
something_amazing: I hope it goes to Full Disclosure.
fakeout: Well, the word transparancey will get thrown around even more
something_amazing: But disclosure defeats the purpose of PR
fakeout: And I bet there will be a few blogs set up as being like, "we are the full disclosure awesomeness site"
something_amazing: heh ;)
fakeout: and while everyone claps them on the back for that, they will go and do something even more dastardly and sneaky
fakeout: "Gentleman, our failure here was not that we were sneaky. Far from it. Rather, we were not sneaky enough."
fakeout: The thing that nags at me, though, about Edelman and blogs and Walmart
fakeout: Is the fracas is blurring the issue
fakeout: They've got us all focused on Edelman
fakeout: That's what Edelman's job is
fakeout: to defuse criticism towards their client
something_amazing: right— so you think Edelman has successfully parried and done exactly what their job is?
something_amazing: as opposed to wal-mart taking the heat?
fakeout: yup
fakeout: I'll bet dimes to donuts there was this conversation with walmart:
fakeout: edelman: so we're going to set up these fake blogs and organizations praising you
fakeout: walmart: cool
fakeout: conversation #2
fakeout: Walmart: how can we fight these unionizers? if we say anything in the press, we get slammed by activists
fakeout: edelman: let's set up a fake walmart worker advocacy group denouncing unions
fakeout: walmart: cool
something_amazing: edelman: Well, they found out about workers for walmart... dude that was a pretty dumb idea I guess afterall. wal-mart: Ah well, better luck next time?

Of course, now that the Edelman authorship has been laid bare, the blogs are as inutile for Walmart as they were for consumers.

Edelman Reveals Two More Wal-Mart 'Flogs' [MediaPost] (Thanks to Dmitry!)

Now Richard, on his Proceed At Your Own Risk blog, ups the ante.

"...commercial websites masquerading as blogs...I call them clogs."

Hell, why stop there? Why not just call 'em crocs?

Corporations are trying to leverage the same dubious media tactics on the internet they've used to subvert the so-called popular press. With the power of horde-based fact-checking, at least now we can unmask them quicker.