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After decades of being celebrated as the most iconic potato on the planet, Mr. Potato Head is rebranded to include a more inclusive potato family for its young audience.
Mr. Potato Head is an American plastic toy modeled after a potato, which allowed children to decorate it with various interchangeable parts, such as ears, shoes, hat, nose, mouth, etc. The rebrand isn't far from the original ideation of Mr. Potato Head because the toy allows children to modify as they see fit.
Mr. Potato Head even appeared in Pixar's Toy Story, which boosted its sales further. However, with changing times and evolving definitions of a family unit, Mr. Potato Head is all set to go gender-neutral. Or so we thought.
Just Potato Head
Hasbro said that Mr. Potato Head was rebranded by removing 'Mr.' from the brand's name to be more inclusive and make everyone feel welcome in the Potato Head world.
The company also stated that it would sell a new playset this fall, without the Mr. and Mrs. designations. This move would allow kids to create their own type of potato families, including two moms or two dads, ensuring inclusiveness to the highest degree possible in a children's toy.
The announcement on Twitter was received with mixed reactions. Here are a few of them:
Many people were unhappy about the change being made to this decades-old toy, while others welcome this change. Things took a turn when Hasbro made their subsequent Tweet on the topic.
Mr. Potato Head remains a Mister.
Hasbro clarified that while the brand is evolving, the actual Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters will still live on and be sold in stores.
The Tweet was met with severe backlash, with one user even pointing out how the toy was a racist caricature of African Americans. However, another user promptly dismissed the statement.
Here are a few more reactions from Twitter users after Hasbro clarified its statement:
Despite the outburst on Twitter, Hasbro is dedicated to shifting towards inclusion with gender norms like other companies. However, it's yet to be seen how this will affect the toy's sales in the foreseeable future.
