When moments such as the Christmas campaign arrive, televisions and the Internet are filled with toys advertisements in search of children asking their parents to buy some of them. This is a custom, however, that opened a classic character that appears in the movie saga Toy Story.
Mister Potato, the first toy to be announced on television
In 1952, Mister potato either Mr. Potato It became the first toy to be announced on television and with it, changed the marketing strategy around this industry, which went on directly to children as the target audience.
Hasbrothe brand that produced this toy, decided to focus the announcement of Mister Potato and address the children, so that these were the ones who insisted on their parents so that they would carry out the purchase, which is known as the ‘Power Power’ effect, translated as ‘annoying power’ or ‘annoying factor’, when the smallest arrived at high insistence limits to obtain their desired product.
This strategy seemed to work and the television ads of Mr. Potato made more than one million units be sold in their first year of sales, a success that led to create a series of characters around him, such as the potato lady, his children, as well as other vegetables, in the 60s in which a whole plastic body was created.
And, in its first version, Mr. Potato was just a group of accessories, insertable plastic pieces that formed a face with their mustache, hat, nose, and sold to decorate and play with real potatoes.
The origin of Mr. Potato in postwar
The origin of this toy took place in 1949, invented by George Lernera Brooklyn manufacturer who had devised a way for children to have fun with vegetables. However, the postwar moment with the rationing of food put difficulties for sale, which first occurred through a brand of breakfast cereals, and then sell it to Hasbro.
Lerner had offered his toy that would become Mr. Potato to the brothers Henry and Merrill Hassenfeld that would create the company Hasbro, with which it would be distributed at the end until that first announcement in 1952. In 1975, the size was extended to comply with security measures, and focused more towards a preschool audience.
Mr. Potato: Toy Story and Inclusion
The popularity of the Mister Potato grew again four decades after its launch to the market, in 1990, thanks to its appearance as one of the characters in the saga Toy Storyin the first feature film of Pixar, in which it was represented with a cynical character and with a marked accent of Brooklyn, referring to its origins.
In 2000 he was chosen as a member of the National Toy Hall of Fame De Rochester, in New York, and in 2021 there would be an important change in eliminating the myster and simply leaving it as ‘potato head’ so that it was more inclusive, without gender distinction.
#toy #announced #television #story #Toy #Storys #characters
