Mix a cup of celebrity with a sprinkle of sincerity and a dash of delightful little girl and what do you get?

How about a recipe for change?

A 13-year-old eighth grader from New Jersey came up with her own concoction of cute and cuddly and took it to the head offices of the Hasbro toy company this week after failing to find an Easy-Bake Oven in more manly colours for her four-year-old brother.

So upset was she about the shortage of shades — it currently only comes in purple and pink — that she started an online petition and enlisted support from a handful of celebrity chefs; modern-day kitchen heavyweights including Bobby Flay and Manuel Trevino.

Before you could say Christmas cake, McKenna Pope had collected more than 40,000 signatures and had captured the company’s attention.

She met with Hasbro brass this week and now the company has announced plans to produce an oven in more gender-neutral tones, showing off a prototype decked out in black, silver and blue.

Little McKenna’s successful quest to change the behaviour of corporate America represents a victory for consumers and serves as a reminder to us all that the people who pay for products have much more power than they might think.

If there’s something about a product that bothers you, let the manufacturers know. If enough people take the time to complain, who knows what the result will be?

Much the same argument can be made when it comes to politics and convincing the people who represent us of the need for change.

If there’s something you don’t like, speak up. Tell your friends to pass on the message. Organize a petition, a delegation or arrange a meeting with your mayor, MLA or MP to let them know you’re not happy — and present them with some thoughtfully considered alternatives or possible solutions.

Thanks to a 13-year-old, we’ve all been reminded that while it doesn’t take much to affect change, nothing will ever be accomplished by sitting on our butts and complaining to ourselves.

Now if McKenna could only do something about the taste of those little cardboard cakes that come out of the Easy-Bake.

Who knows, maybe that’s next on her agenda.