No More Mr Potato Head it is gender neutral

[Autbot_Benz]

NEW YORK (AP) — Mr. Potato Head is no longer a mister.

Hasbro, the company that makes the potato-shaped plastic toy, is giving the spud a gender neutral new name: Potato Head. The change will appear on boxes this year.

Many toymakers have been updating their classic brands in recent years, hoping to relate to today's kids and reflect more modern families.

“It’s a potato,” said Ali Mierzejewski, editor in chief at toy review site The Toy Insider. “But kids like to see themselves in the toys they are playing with.”

Barbie, for example, has shed its blonde image and now comes in multiple skin tones and body shapes. Thomas the Tank Engine added more girl characters. And American Girl is now selling a boy doll.

As part of the rebranding, Hasbro will release a new Potato Head playset this fall that will let kids create their own type of families, including two moms or two dads. The Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head characters will live on in some form, Hasbro said, but didn't provide details. Both have appeared in the “Toy Story" movies.

Dropping the “Mr.” from its name could encourage other companies to stop assigning genders to its toys, a trend that has already been happening, said Mierzejewski. Barbie maker Mattel released a gender-neutral doll line in 2019. But Mr. Potato Head is one of the biggest brands to do so.

“It’s setting this new standard," Mierzejewski said.

Mr. Potato Head first hit the toy scene in 1952, when it didn’t even come with a plastic potato — kids had to supply their own vegetable to poke eyes, a nose or mustache into. Hasbro, which also makes Monopoly and My Little Pony, bought the brand and eventually added a plastic potato.

https://news.yahoo.com/mister-no-mor...163741315.html

[Leo656]

I sincerely hope I die before some genius in marketing eventually rebrands "He-Man" as "It-Person".

[Autbot_Benz]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I sincerely hope I die before some genius in marketing eventually rebrands "He-Man" as "It-Person".

better watch out X-men might become X-persons

[sdp]

literally just a PR move to get people talking about Mr Potato head, who cares, the version I had as a kid included tons of stuff to make a Ms or Mr, it was "gender neutral" as a kid, they just have this big press release for points people will talk about it and it'll generate more money for them. Literally non-news and their strategy worked since this thread would not be here otherwise. You fell for their marketing trap.

[Leo656]

Oh, look, it's the Patron Saint of Bad Opinions, over here telling people not to have opinions.

[AquaParade]

Didn't they also have a Ms. Potato Head? Seems smarter to sell one to the girl and one to the boy. The great thing about Mr Potato head is he can transition at the pop and snap of body part.
Very modern.

[CyberCubed]

Toy Story is going to have to do some retconning now.

[Autbot_Benz]

Hasbro Backtracked

Hasbro
@Hasbro
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

[sdp]

They just clarified because of all the clickbait articles, they didn't backtrack anything since the characters are not going anywhere just changing the name of the brand, I had to watch the investors meeting at work and got the press releases emailed to me.

[IndigoErth]

I mean, if they were more crafty about it they could just sell the plastic potato by itself (maybe with a basic set of feet), casually escaping any screams and finger pointing from the public, and then sell all the other parts in various accessory sets and do a line of parts as blind bags, and jack up the profit as a result.

Originally Posted by Leo656

I sincerely hope I die before some genius in marketing eventually rebrands "He-Man" as "It-Person".

Okay, but now I want it because that's hilarious.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Autbot_Benz

Hasbro
@Hasbro
Hold that Tot –

I yam proud to confirm

Me when people make excessive use of bad puns:

[ssjup81]

*Bangs head on keyboard*

I am so sick of stuff like this! It's a darn toy! Children can use their own imaginations to make it whatever. Oh well, just rename it to "Potato Head"....

Originally Posted by Leo656

I sincerely hope I die before some genius in marketing eventually rebrands "He-Man" as "It-Person".

Hm, trying to sing the theme replacing the "He-Man" with "It-Person" doesn't work for me... lol

"...Kringer became the mighty Battle Cat and I became It-Person, the most powerful person in the Universe!"

[IMJ]

This is what happens when an entire generation of kids got trophies just for showing up and were told that they are all uniquely special. You get an ambiguous potato head - you know... the important things for children.

Why are the Turtles male? Does that matter?

[Andrew NDB]

"We shouldn't see gender or race! They're all the same and absolutely equal in every way!"

The same people: "Gender is super important and the differences should be celebrated! And kids should be able to decide theirs at age 3. Also, we need affirmative action in all jobs and things so people can be given stuff based on the color of their skin instead of the most qualified people for the job!"

Dumb.

[Cryomancer]

how do you guys have the spare energy to muster up even the slightest bit of care or outrage about this?

[frank_one]

In Italy "potato" is a female word ("patata") and it is used to playfully refer to the external female sex organs in a very similar way to how you english speaking folks use the word "pussy".

[IndigoErth]

Dumbest reason this wasn't needed... is because Mrs. Potato Head has been a thing since 1953 (according to Wikipedia). Only one year after the original Mr. that hit the market in 1952.

If it had been one sided all this time after almost 70 years then that might be a different story. I don't really care what this brand does, but it's kind of annoying that this sort of thing is looked at where it isn't really needed, not where it is. There are other properties/brands aimed at kids that are pretty much gender neutral, yet still lopsided, that would be far more worth taking a look at, or have been in recent years.

Originally Posted by frank_one

In Italy "potato" is a female word ("patata") and it is used to playfully refer to the external female sex organs in a very similar way to how you english speaking folks use the word "pussy".

Now I'm wondering how it was/is marketed there, because that sounds pretty awkward. lol

[frank_one]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Now I'm wondering how it was/is marketed there, because that sounds pretty awkward. lol

Nothing special I guess. As far as I know it has always been called Mr. Potato here as well, so the link with the italian female word is lost.

[skylord]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

"We shouldn't see gender or race! They're all the same and absolutely equal in every way!"

This is not really a talking point on the left anymore. Maybe a decade or so ago but modern consensus is that actively avoiding race/gender is actually detrimental to disparities in minority groups. Gender and race should be recognized and studied as they are important social constructs that shape many people's lives.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

"people can be given stuff based on the color of their skin instead of the most qualified people for the job!"

Even disregarding race/gender, the job market is not a meritocracy. People get jobs all the time for things outside of actual skillsets. You'd be hard pressed to find any job where only the best people are hired.

I'm not about to get angry over a corporate potato.

[Leo656]

If people are not allowed to get irrationally angry over things of absolutely zero consequence, then we may as well just go ahead and shut down the entire Internet.