The group Druids for the Ethical and Humane Treatment of Animals is recruiting World of Warcraft players for their Save the Murlocs campaign. If you haven’t heard of the movement yet, check out the informative (and highly entertaining) Save the Murlocs PSA. Blizzard Entertainment, J!NX, and Hot Topic have already endorsed D.E.H.T.A., creating special merchandise to help them in their fundraising efforts.
J!NX, hand-picked by Blizzard Entertainment, has been producing a fully licensed Official World of Warcraft Collection since 2006. In addition to an extensive line of clothing and accessories, they created the World of Warcraft Talking Murloc Plush Toy:
Adopt your very own TALKING Murloc! For too long, these majestic creatures have been the subject of cruelty. The J!NX crew fully supports the Save the Murlocs Campaign!
Recently updated for the “Save the Murlocs” campaign, the toy now includes a special extra:
Each Murloc comes with an official adoption certificate emblazoned with your rescued Murloc’s name. Hang it with pride in your bedroom, office or guild hall!
Printed on cream-coloured paper in green, black, and shiny gold ink, the fancy adoption certificate comes in an envelope marked with the “Save the Murlocs” logo, beneath which “Official Adoption Certificate” is written in a calligraphic font. It’s exciting to open the document and discover which random name has been assigned to your Murloc. In the case of the one being reviewed here, he (or, possibly, she — it’s hard to tell with these amphibious creatures) turned out to be named Grimz.
The plush Murloc is packed in a cardboard box that resembles a live animal shipping crate. Simulated wood planks are stamped “imported from Azeroth”, and the front of the crate has a big, splintered hole in it where the plastic window would normally be, as if the contained Murloc has tried to claw its way out during transport. There’s no need to fear this little Murloc, though. No bigger than a small cat, it’s clearly a baby, the perfect size to fit on your lap while you play World of Warcraft, or drape over your arm and stroke in evil genius fashion. It even “purrs”, making the Murloc’s distinctive “rwl” sound when you press under its chin to activate the voicebox mechanism, which is quite clear without being overly loud. The arms and legs have wire armature for better shape retention, but the toy is still soft and cuddly, with its variety of brightly-coloured, tactile fabrics inviting frequent pettings. Most notable is the Murloc’s green “skin”, a low-pile, textured plush that shimmers with a subtly detailed fish-scale pattern, except where wetly glossy fabric paint is used to apply the stripes lining the array of orange felt spikes along the spine. The overall result is an authentically aquatic-looking Murloc.
Hot Topic’s contribution to the campaign is a pair of exclusive t-shirts that are available only in their retail stores. The Hot Topic Exclusive “Save the Murlocs” T-Shirt comes in a men’s/unisex style, and for the ladies there’s the Hot Topic Exclusive World of Warcraft “Save Me” Women’s Tee. Made of thick, soft cotton, the t-shirts feature large graphics screen-printed in bold, eye-catching colours that will definitely get your message noticed. A hang-tag on the shirts promotes savethemurlocs.org, with four peelable Murloc stickers on one side, two of which incorporate the website’s URL.
For those of you who simply refuse to be converted to the Murlocs’ cause, J!NX (reluctantly, one presumes) offers a World of Warcraft Murloco’s Tacos T-Shirt to wear instead. To you heathens, the Murlocs have just one thing to say: RWLRWLRWL!
Order directly through the J!NX website. Bonus: each package comes with a sticker sheet plus any available catalogues or other promotional materials.
The World of Warcraft Talking Murloc Plush Toy and World of Warcraft Murloco’s Tacos T-Shirt are distributed by J!NX, in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment. The Hot Topic Exclusive “Save the Murlocs” T-Shirt and Hot Topic Exclusive World of Warcraft “Save Me” Women’s Tee are distributed by Hot Topic, in partnership with J!NX and Blizzard Entertainment. For more information, please visit the official World of Warcraft website.