Toy company takes ‘Mr’ off Potato Head branding for inclusivity2 min read
Reading Time: 2 minutesDo you know who Mr Potato Head is? He’s a goofy looking toy who appeared in the Toy Story movies…? Well, the company that manufactures the toy has decided to remove the ‘Mr’ prefix from the name, in an attempt to make the iconic toy, and the company as a whole, more gender-neutral.
Gender neutrality is an attempt to move away from sex or gender norms set by society.
Toy making company Hasbro, which is behind some other popular brands such as Monopoly, Playskool, Marvel and Transformers, said the Potato Head toy range needed a modern makeover.
Back in time…
Mr Potato Head is a line of toys that consists of different body parts and accessories such as a hat, ears, nose, shoes, pants and a plastic potato-shaped body. Children can assemble the toys to form different figures. Mr Potato Head was “born” in 1952 and was the first toy to be advertised on television!
Interestingly, back in the day, the toy consisted only of body parts such as eyes, ears, a nose and a mouth. Parents had to supply real potatoes or any other kind of vegetable to their children to complete the toy figure. This changed in the early 1960s when the toy manufacturer started including a hard plastic potato body.
The toy was first conceptualised by inventor George Lerner, and was acquired by Hashbro in 1952. This toy was followed by Mrs Potato Head, Spud, his brother, and Yam, his sister.
Why the re-brand?
The people at Hasbro felt this name change is more reflective of their full product line, and is a step forward in “making sure all feel welcome” by promoting gender equality and inclusion.
Hasbro is going to introduce a line of toys as part of a box set – ‘Create Your Potato Family’. This kit has two large potato bodies, a smaller potato body, and 42 accessories. This, Hasbro says, allows kids to create their own version of what a family looks like.
Sources: Indian Express, ABC
Images: shortlist.com, comic book.com
