Disney has a pretty long-standing endorsement deal with Kirin Beverage in Japan, in which the studio’s animated characters appear on bottles of Gogo no Koucha tea. Right now, the two companies are taking their partnership one step further, by offering a special Disney mug to anyone who buys four bottles from Kirin’s popular tea line.
Unfortunately, Kirin has had to issue a recall of the cups, which have been found prone to cracking. We’re sure it’s an unpleasant surprise for the beverage company, but Disney fans are pointing out that Kirin should have seen this coming for one simple reason: the decision to put Frozen’s Elsa on one of the mugs.
As part of the promotion, which started in mid-October, Kirin produced six different mug designs. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Winnie the Pooh were all obvious choices, given that not only are they four of Disney’s most iconic figures, they’ve all regularly graced Kirin products in the past.
If you’re doing a Disney-based marketing deal these days, though, you can’t pass up the chance to sign the animated cast of Frozen, which continues to enjoy immense popularity in Japan. As such, royal sisters Anna and Elsa round out the collection of six mugs.
So far, the promotion has been a hit, with Kirin distributing some 300,000 mugs. Unfortunately, over a period of six days, 10 recipients reported their mugs cracking, prompting Kirin to issue a recall. The exact cause of the problem is unknown, but the trigger is clear, as the damage occurs when hot liquid is poured into the mug.
In light of that, Internet commenters quickly pointed out that Kirin and Disney might have been tempting fate by putting Elsa, with her ice-based magical powers, on one of their mugs.
“Of course the Snow Queen is going to melt when you pour hot water on her.”
“Well, yeah, that’s snow for you. It doesn’t really mix with hot liquid that well.”
“Hey, what do you guys think you’re doing, pouring hot water on the Snow Queen?!”
Thankfully, just one person reported being injured by the broken cup’s contents, suffering only minor burns. Still, if you’ve got one of these Disney mugs, Kirin would like it back. No timetable has been announced for providing replacements, so in the meantime, if you’re looking to see the Frozen cast outside of a TV screen, you might just have to keep your fingers crossed that you catch the same subway as Olaf. And if you just can’t bear to part with yours, remember, iced tea only.
Sources: Hachima Kikou, Yahoo! Japan
Top image: Hachima Kikou
Insert images: Yahoo! Auctions