Potato Head confusion after toy owners drop honorific

TOY giant Hasbro has created confusion around the status of Mr Potato Head after announcing it would drop the “Mr” from the brand’s name.

The US company said the decision was to be more inclusive and so all could feel “welcome in the Potato Head world”.

Hasbro also said it would sell a new playset this autumn without the Mr and Mrs designations that will let children create their own type of potato families, including two mums or two dads.

But in a tweet later, Hasbro clarified that while the brand is changing, the actual Mr and Mrs Potato Head characters will live on and be sold in stores.

In a picture posted on Twitter, the “Mr” and “Mrs” names are less prominently displayed at the bottom of the box, instead of the top.

“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,” the company tweeted.

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.

Kimberly Boyd, a senior vicepresident at Hasbro, said the intention of the brand name change was to be more inclusive and to have the characters still live within the Potato Head universe.

“It created a lot of excitement,” she said.