Potato Head, Hold the Mister
The iconic Mr.Potato Head is undergoing a quite noticeable change. Hasbro recently announced the revision to the beloved children's toy spud.
The simple toy potato has been around for more than 70 years. While accessories have been added to accompany the toy spud in the past, such a dramatic change has never occurred in the company until now.
Hasbro announced they will be dropping the 'Mister' part of the brand's name. It was a really progressive move for the company as they made the decision to drop the gender portion of the name.
The company officially commented: "Hasbro is making sure all feel welcome in the Potato Head world by officially dropping the Mr. from the Mr. Potato Head brand name and logo to promote gender equality and inclusion"
To clear any confusion, Hasbro later tweeted that although the brand itself has dropped any assigned binary genders, the spuds themselves shall still remain 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' Potatohead.
A spokesperson from the LBGTQ advocacy group GLAAD, Rich Ferraro, explained the reasoning behind revoking the gender from Hasboros super successful spud. He said, "By offering a toy that exists outside of the binary of male and female, Hasbro is helping kids to simply see toys as toys, which encourages them to be their authentic selves outside of the pressures of traditional gender norms."
Hasbro is not the first company to make changes to its brand due to social consciousness. Mattel, the Barbie moguls, rebranded their entire empire and got more in line with the times as society's attitudes towards women's bodies began to shift. Now, the brand offers a diverse palette of body types, skin tones, facial shapes, and many other attributes.
While these two companies continue to alter themself with the times, toys will begin to transform to stay in tune as society views progress and change.