Etch a Sketch stock soars following Mitt Romney aide’s blunder
An “Etch A Sketch ” for sale at FAO Schwarz in New York City on March 22, 2012. French electrician Andre Cassagnes created the toy in the late 1950s as the “L’Ecran Magique,” and with the Ohio Art Company launched it in the US on July 12, 1960. The iconic toy has found its way to US presidential politics. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney received backing from major Republican figures March 21 after a big win in Illinois, but an aide’s gaffe reinforced qualms about his campaign. Asked on CNN whether the primary had pushed Romney too far to the right for general election voters, advisor Eric Fehrnstrom said “I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes.” “It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”
A day after Mitt Romney's senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom fumbled and compared his campaign to an Etch a Sketch, shares of the toy's manufacturer Ohio Art have more than doubled, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The toymaker's share value was $4 at closing time on Wednesday, before soaring to $12.50 on Thursday, and settling at $9.65 at the close of the over-the-counter market, Politico reported.
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"It kind of caught us by surprise," said Larry Killgallon, president of Ohio Art, in an interview with CNBC.com. He returned from a trip to Chicago to a deluge of e-mails about the incident.
In a CNN interview about Romney's political strategy for the general election on Wednesday morning, Fehrnstrom blundered when he compared his candidate to the draw-and-erase toy.
More from GlobalPost: Romney's senior adviser compares his campaign to an Etch a Sketch (VIDEO)
"I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It's like Etch A Sketch," Fehrnstrom said, USA Today reported. "You can shake it up, and we start all over again."
Ohio Art, based in Bryan, Ohio, began selling the toy in 1960, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. The Etch a Sketch was the company’s best-selling product until last year. The company has 369,000 public shares, according to Bloomberg.