The Classic Toy “ Mr. Potato Head” Would Never Become a Success in Today ' s Overprotective Society

by: Geoff Ficke

The Classic Toy “ Mr. Potato Head” Would Never

Become a Success in Today’ s Overprotective Society

In the delayed 1940’ s a Brooklyn - based inventor named George Lerner began to striving to license a toy concept he had developed. The notion was to take pieces of fruit and vegetables and dress them with human facial features made from toy able parts. The goal was to enable kids to create whimsical faces on their veggies.

Mr. Lerner shopped the concept to many toy companies. None were open. After the hardship and shortages of World Enmity II, it was deducing that the resulting waste of food from decorating perishables with humorous shaped eyes, brows, ears and lips would be experimental as obtuse. Nevertheless, the inventor was loving of his prototype and plodded onward.

After several years of making no progress with toy manufacturers in his venture to license the product George Lerner was in consummation successful in selling the skillful parts as a premium promotion for cereal producers. While thrilled to basically have his creation in children’ s hands, albeit as a give - away, Mr. Lerner expanded to hold that his unfolding with the item hangout in the toy world. He kept pitching to toy companies.

In 1951 Lerner introduced the product to a small manufacturer just inbound the toy gang: Hassenfeld Brothers. They agreed to license the product and launch it as a stand - alone toy. Mr. Potato Head was born. The primordial kit came with a set of multiple facial parts that could be mixed and stable by children to create farcical, blue, silly facial expressions when the parts were stuck onto vegetables. Potatoes became the favorite body to build the faces on. Parents supplied the potatoes.

Mr. Potato Head was such a huge success that it became the first toy product ever advertised today to children. It provided the impetus for a Saturday morning block of children’ s television programming that became ubiquitary in every home in America. In the 1960’ s a all-purpose potato body was included in the set at the command of the force. Brother Spud, Brother Yam and the Spud - ette’ s were introduced by the licensee. Hassenfeld Brothers had evolved into Hasbro and Mr. Potato Head was properly credited with supplying the launching pad for one of America’ s great toy companies.

Hasbro has done an amazing job of placing Mr. Potato Head in the classic Pixar - produced Toy Story movies, comic strips and television series.

In the 1970’ s, one of America’ s most lover toy franchises came increasingly under the paternalistic gaze of the Civic Curb. For two decades children had come to love creating goofy faces and expressions for their Mr. Potato Head’ s. Suddenly the restriction began to take note that Mr. Potato Head contained small, sharp parts that had to be pushed into the body of the toy. Lawyers took note as well.

Through the elderliness Mr. Potato Stub has undergone populous redesigns in pattern to ride in compliance with ever changing regulations. The arrangement of the blithe - face parts has been redesigned several times to eliminate points and harsh edges. The pieces have been exponentially enlarged to minimize the chance for swallowing. The variable potato body is landing the size of a soccer ball.

I played with Mr. Potato Terminal as a child. So did my six brothers and sisters and the hundreds of kids in my station in the 1950’ s. Somehow we all survived.

Mr. Potato Top survives despite a topical society that has become frighteningly venture - loath. My marketing consulting and product development Interest reviews many toy and game products every clock. One of the most common reasons we decline offerings is for we are by much aware of the toy industry’ s fear of product liability and litigation issues. Many of these products would have been possible 50 senescence ago. Today they will not even be considered. It makes me harsh that a product review of Mr. Potato Head, conducted in 2011, would partly affirmative decision in a determination of decline for this classic.

Mr. Potato Head is a betrothed children’ s toy and will keep at to evolve to reach in compliance with the whims of the nanny state. I want every child sheltered. Safety can never be compromised. In the 21st century, however, if Mr. Potato Head did not exist, it would find a much more problematic road to store shelves than it did in the 1950’ s. I fear we would never have known the toy. I know that millions of children would have enjoyed a much less capricious boyhood without this simple, happy, gifted product.