While they’re not going Keto and dropping the potato permanently, Hasbro has announced it’s making a change to one of the oldest mass-market toys in American history.
Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are going gender neutral. Sort of.
For the record, they’re just Potato Head going forward…That is, the brand, not the individual spuds, which can still be purchased individually as Mr. and Mrs., Hasbro has clarified.
“Hasbro is making sure all feel welcome in the Potato Head world by officially dropping the Mr. from the Potato Head brand name and logo to promote gender equality and inclusion,” said the company in a statement.
The re-brand is ahead of this fall’s launch of Create Your Potato Head Family, a product containing, “2 large potato bodies, 1 small potato body, and 42 accessories, their potato family can have up to 2 parents, and a baby.”
Hasbro calls it, “a celebration of the many faces of families allowing kids to imagine and create their own Potato Head family.”
Losing the title “Mr.” is an effort by the toy company towards inclusivity. In recent years their rival Mattel has launched dolls in the Barbie line that celebrate various body shapes, colors, and types, as well as dolls with prosthetic limbs and others that come with wheelchairs.
Twitter reaction was immediate — and mixed.
“Oh, good. My eye rolling when I first read the ‘breaking news’ is not alone,” posted one person about the headline.
“Who cares how it self-identifies. Just play with the damn potato. It’s fun,” another Twitter user said.