"Sexy Build-A-Bear," once considered an outlandish concept circa 2008, is now heading toward shelves just in time for Valentine's Day 2022.
The line, Build-A-Bear After Dark, features a line of bears drinking wine, wearing cheeky shirts, holding bottles of champagne in silk pajamas, with messages that run the gamut from "Rosé over Roses" to "I love you."
The bears, while relatively innocuous at first, raised some questions in their mini photoshoot for the Brand's official Facebook announcement.
The announcement features a lion, patiently waiting by two poured glasses of champagne and a rose in a silk robe.
IM SORRY THE WHAT SERIES https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/ul8Esl2C0e— Cyber \u2661 BLACK HISTORY BITCH (@Cyber \u2661 BLACK HISTORY BITCH) 1644158878
DON'T BUY THE NEW BUILD-A-BEAR TEDDY BEARS https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/ZKvFF329Un— \ud83c\udf3b basil \u26a2 (@\ud83c\udf3b basil \u26a2) 1644027494
Capitalism leads to innovation.https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026— Max Berger (@Max Berger) 1644012105
Me looking at furry\u2019s: https://twitter.com/cnet/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/fHOAcnDF1B— Sammy Tighe(Comms Open) (@Sammy Tighe(Comms Open)) 1644010923
“Who said stuffed animals were just for the kids?" the brand began their announcement with.
"Why should they get to have all the fun? The Build-A-Bear stuffed animal gift collection has something for everyone—including stuffed animals for adults who are just kids at heart."
Despite the relatively innocuous nature of the bears, the website portion of Build-A-Bear: After Dark requires the user to be 18 years of age or older to browse and purchase.
okay before anyone gets uncomfortable this headline is very misleading: checking the adult section of the build a bear site just had lots of their regular plushes themed for valentines day, the most "adult" having shirts like "dont talk to me before ive had my wine"https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026— kam\u2661\ud83c\udf4a\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\u273f (@kam\u2661\ud83c\udf4a\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\u273f) 1644006959
The \u201chorny teddy bears\u201d in question https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/GTDjPFSZim— dani (@dani) 1644005832
wake up sheeple this has been their plan from the start https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/igikt5EsAv— \ud83d\udc9a Dawn? \ud83d\udc9a\ud83c\udf31\ud83c\udf4d (@\ud83d\udc9a Dawn? \ud83d\udc9a\ud83c\udf31\ud83c\udf4d) 1643999771
Okay there\u2019s like one horny bear and the rest are all dressed like Sex in the City characters https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/2RrsrNmqrc— Saddington 3 (in production) (@Saddington 3 (in production)) 1643998140
While these gifts are cute, the selling point, as Build-A-Bear put it, is likely to only "get you hugged" rather than what the title and marketing might suggest.
okay but it allowed me to do this so maybe it\u2019s not all bad https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/t6Jg3NUtKx— KALLE \ud83d\udc7e CDK SUPREMACY 2022 (@KALLE \ud83d\udc7e CDK SUPREMACY 2022) 1643995827
they really want to get stuffed!https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026— BD (@BD) 1643993909
Y'all really be getting off on this https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/5Zh5L2uDQD— The Marathon Continues \ud83c\udfc1 (@The Marathon Continues \ud83c\udfc1) 1644020547
Sending him to my enemies as a threat https://twitter.com/CNET/status/1489080440019464192\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/r6HCbxsIZx— Tallest Keebler Elf (@Tallest Keebler Elf) 1643993707
The bears retail between $30 and $50 and will be on sale through Valentine's Day.