Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head to the Gym

Mr. Potato Head is flying high at the
2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

A slimmer, healthier celebrity spud couple walked the red carpet in February at the International Toy Fair in New York City.  Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head showed off their newly narrowed waistlines and continued their campaign that potatoes are not just a “fattening worthless starch with empty calories.” 

In 2003, consumer’s literally stopped eating potatoes in response to the extreme media coverage of low-carb diets.  Potatoes were on everyone’s no-no list.  But in reality, a medium potato contains no fat, only about 110 calories and is packed with Potassium and Vitamin C. 

Hasbro’s tag line for the svelte new spuds will be “an extreme bake-over.”  Clever marketing, and one that seems to go right in line with First Lady Michelle Obama’s new “Let’s Move!” Campaign. Let’s Move! is an interactive, educational initiative aimed at attacking the high obesity rate among children in the USA, which has actually tripled over the last 30 years.

Mr. Potato Head and the Misses can join their friends from Sesame Street who are also delivering a new nutritional message.  Last year the fluffy blue Cookie Monster learned to control his cookie cravings by eating cookies only sometimes, instead of a main meal.  We all change over the years, and so its to be expected that our beloved toys will change as well.

Actually, Mr. Potato Head was originally created by George Learner, who knew what every parent learns eventually.  If you want your kid to eat something, make it into a toy!  Somehow even a dry turkey sandwich on wheat becomes d-e-l-i-c-ious when cut into the shape of a shark. It was no different for this rotund root.  

Learner started the fad by creating a variety of small plastic accessories packed inside cereal boxes.  The kids would use these on a real potato.  It wasn’t long before the idea was picked up by entrepreneurs Hal and Halel Hessenfeld who bought the idea and made it into a plastic toy.  It was an instant hit in 1952, and put Hassenfeld Brothers (later shortened to Hasbro) and Mr. Potato Head on the map.  This simple plastic spud become one of America’s all-time favorite toys.

The new figures will have actual legs, a slimmer silhouette and fun new accessories.  Due to make their debut in retail stores in the Fall of 2011, it's unlikely that your child will even care about the new changes. It's the parents that this campaign is geared toward.  If the parent buys into the nutritional message and slimmed-down look - the hope is that message will subtly trickle down to the kids.