NEW YORK – Mr. Potato Head is no longer a gentleman.
Hasbro, the company that makes the potato-shaped plastic toys, announced on Thursday that it is giving the spud a new gender-neutral name: Potato Head. The change appears on boxes this year.
Toy manufacturers have updated their classic brands to appeal to kids today. Barbie has rejected his blonde image and now comes in various skin tones and body shapes. Thomas the Tank Engine added more girl characters. And American Girl is now selling a boy doll.
Hasbro said that Mr. Potato Head, which has been around for about 70 years, needs a modern make-up.
The toy manufacturing giant has announced the change as it also launches a “Create Your Potato Head Family” package featuring two potato parents and a potato baby. In the video in which the kit was announced, it is for ‘modern families’ and contains a variety of family make-up, including with same-sex potato parents.
“Hasbro makes everyone feel welcome in the Potato Head world by officially dropping the Mr. Potato Head brand and logo to promote gender equality and inclusion,” the company said in a statement on its website.
“The name change comes with a fresh look with a whimsical color palette and more inclusive messages, as well as a new product that appeals to the modern consumer,” Hasbro said.
Letting go of the ‘Mr’ Mierzejewski, according to his name, could encourage other businesses not to attribute generations to their toys, a trend that has already taken place. Barbie maker Mattel released a gender-neutral doll line in 2019. But Mr. Potato Head is one of the biggest brands doing this.
“It’s a potato,” said Ali Mierzejewski, editor-in-chief of toy review website The Toy Insider. “But children like to see themselves in the toys they play with.”
“It sets this new standard,” Mierzejewski said.
Mr Potato Head first hit the toy scene in 1952, when it did not even come with a plastic potato – children had to provide their own vegetables to insert eyes, a nose or mustache. Hasbro, which also manufactures Monopoly and My Little Pony, bought the brand and eventually added a plastic potato.