Hasbro Rebrands Mr. Potato Head Toy to Gender-Neutral ‘Potato Head’
By Movieguide® Staff
Hasbro announced that the classic Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head toy would be rebranded to the gender-neutral “Potato Head” toy line.
Hasbro said that while the rebrand will affect their Mr. Potato Head brand, the Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters will retain their names.
“While we’re renaming the Mr. Potato Head brand to Potato Head to better reflect the full line, the iconic Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters aren’t going anywhere and will remain Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head,” Hasbro clarified via Twitter.
Hold that Tot – your main spud, MR. POTATO HEAD isn’t going anywhere! While it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand name & logo are dropping the ‘MR.’ I yam proud to confirm that MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD aren’t going anywhere and will remain MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD pic.twitter.com/6I84KrxOLQ
— Hasbro (@Hasbro) February 25, 2021
Kimberly Boyd, Hasbro general manager and senior vice president of global brands, said that the change helps children feel represented.
“Culture has evolved,” Boyd told Fast Company. “Kids want to be able to represent their own experiences. The way the brand currently exists — with the ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ — is limiting when it comes to both gender identity and family structure.”
Boyd continued to note that the company wants to allow children “to create all types of families.”
The original toy, created in the 1940s by inventor Goerge Lerner, only came with the accessories, and families had to provide the vegetable. In 1952, the toy debuted under its official name, Mr. Potato Head.
Since the toy’s release, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head’s characters were made popular in the 2000s by Disney’s TOY STORY series.
God’s design for family places an emphasis on having a father and a mother, a male and female counterpart. Though these are just potatoes, the message is clear: Society wants to move away from a biblical design for family.
