Charity-minded callers are being intercepted by a phone-sex line because of a typo on Chad Ochocinco Cereal boxes.
The phone number is supposed to connect callers to Feed the Children, which benefits from sales of the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver's cereal. But the box has the wrong toll-free prefix, meaning callers hear a seductive-sounding woman who makes risque suggestions, then asks for a credit-card number.
Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. said Thursday it was pulling all Ochocinco cereal boxes from its grocery shelves because of the error. Some local stores had them on special display after the launch about a month ago.
The low fat, honey nut, toasted oat cereal was available for $5 per box.
Pittsburgh-based PLB Sports Inc., which specializes in limited-edition products featuring star athletes and their favorite charities, apologized for the error in a statement Thursday. The statement said the boxes will be re-issued with the correct toll-free number.
Robert Bailey, president of Rosenhaus Sports, which represents Ochocinco, told *The Cincinnati Enquirer* that the charity gave the supplier the wrong phone number.
"Feed the Children inadvertently provided the producers of the cereal box with an '800' number instead of the correct number with an '888' exchange," Bailey said in a statement. "We greatly regret the mistake and the trouble it has caused, but Chad himself was in no way involved in this error."
Ochocinco told WCPO-TV on Wednesday night that the number clearly was a mistake and he was sure the maker would fix the problem.
As of Thursday morning, Ochocinco hadn't mentioned the error in any of his frequent messages on Twitter. On Wednesday, he had urged fans to go to his website to order the cereal and "Start your day with a lil suga!!!"
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
