Sometimes in the mad and heady rush of marketing the shit out of a popular bit of intellectual property the folks at Disney tend to overlook how something might come across as, shall we say, a tad inappropriate. Disney has a big hit with the High School Musical movies and they’re marketing the hell out of them wherever they can. One item they should’ve thought twice about was panties for ‘tween girls that were themed after a scene in High School Musical 2 where the two main characters sing about how they love each other while dancing in and around a swimming pool. The panties, in keeping with the theme, had the words “Dive In” printed on them.

Needless to say, this hasn’t sat well with some parents:

“My daughter and I thought it was rather inappropriate for a 7 year old to be wearing them. ‘Dive In’ was written across them,“ Ralf said. “Well, without being rude, we thought it was rather suggestive.“

“I think it is inappropriate because you just never know who could be out and about and see that and just think it was a bit too enticing for a young child to be wearing,“ she said. “I would like to see all the products removed from the shelves.“

Well you’ve gotten your wish. Disney has announced they’re yanking down their panties:

“Unfortunately, an oversight was made and the text on the underwear was used out context,” Disney said in a statement. “This product will not be part of any forthcoming collections and the remaining product has been removed from shelves.”

You can see the panties in the pic to the left (click to embiggen) and, honestly, it’s not as bad as it sounds in the news stories. I expected the words to be printed in ALL CAPS using big block letters and bright primary colors, but it’s actually something you’d have to be looking at closely to really notice. Still there’s no point in tempting fate I suppose, though if Disney ever wants to start marketing to a more mature crowd I think they’d have another hit on their hands in the novelty underwear department.