RICHMOND, Va. — Ignoring Alfred E. Neuman’s mantra of “What, me worry?” Circuit City temporarily banished the irreverent Mad Magazine from its stores’ shelves for poking fun at the consumer-electronics retailer. But the company said Monday “some overly sensitive souls at our corporate headquarters” had the August issue removed from the 40 Circuit City stores that sell magazines after seeing the four-page spoof of “Sucker City.”
“We apologize for the knee-jerk reaction, and have issued a retraction order; the affected stores are being directed to put the magazines back on sale,” spokesman Jim Babb said in an e-mail response.
The spoof features advertisements for items like HDTVs and video games, including the Nintendo Wii “Guaranteed In Stock … if you’re friends with an employee who hid it in the back for you. Otherwise, ooh, sorry, all sold out.”
John Ficarra, the magazine’s editor, said in a statement: “We at Mad were shocked and confused by this entire incident — mainly because we had no idea that Circuit City even sells magazines.” The Associated Press
