Mr. Potato Head Went Gender Neutral – Dropping The ‘Mr. & Mrs.’ From Its Name…But Did They Really?

Like & Follow Us On Facebook!

(Hasbro via AP)

First off — Mr. Potato Head will always be Mr. Potato Head.

The Hasbro company released a statement on Thursday saying that they were going to make Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, gender neutral — dropping the Mr. and Mrs. from the name. Hasbro stated that the new name would simply be, ‘Potato Head’.

They also said it would sell a new playset this fall without the Mr. and Mrs. designations that will let kids create their own type of potato families, including two moms or two dads.

However, after some serious outrage across the web, Hasbro released another statement later in the day, which said this:

Hold that Tot – your main spud, MR. POTATO HEAD isn’t going anywhere! While it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand name and 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

The entire situation was quite confusing.

The tweet came after news of the brand name change exploded on Twitter, with people asking if Barbie will change her name next. “I think Hasbro needs to drop the “Bro” and just be “Has,’” another person tweeted.

Hasbro appears to want to have it both ways: expand the brand, while not killing off its most iconic characters, which appeared in the “Toy Story” films.

“They are looking to broaden the franchise,” said Robert Passikoff, founder of marketing consultancy Brand Keys. “You take the focus of what is essentially one character and now allow it to be a platform for many characters.”

While the new box logo does look different and doesn’t prominently feature the Mr. or Mrs. in the main logo — the Mr. and Mrs. does still appear on the front of the packing.