Business
Everyone Is Talking About (And Buying) The Potato Heads
By now you already know this week’s big Mr. Potato Head news. Or, I should say, “Potato Head” news. If you haven’t seen by now that the iconic toy is relinquishing his “Mister” title, then you have an inoculation from the cultural zeitgeist that is to be envied.
If you are looking for a take on what this means for us as a culture, either positive or negative, I refer you to countless other media sites and blogs. That terrain has been covered to no end, almost as much as racism on this season of “The Bachelor.” At this point, it is not particularly interesting. What is interesting, on the either hand, is the effect this announcement has or may have on people’s desires to possess Mr. Potato Head toys.
All of a sudden, Mr. Potato Head is sold out. You can only buy a Mr. Potato Head on Amazon from secondary sellers. Right now the second most popular toy on Amazon (after the octopus) is Mrs. Potato Head. Although not currently in stock, Amazon allows you to order it now and have it delivered by the ides of March.
If public opinion is best ascertained by people’s spending habits, what does this say about the general reaction to Hasbro’s much ballyhooed announcement? Are shoppers rewarding the owners of the Playskool brand for their courageous stand against traditional family norms? Or is there simply a run on gendered potatoes so people can stock up on the real stuff before it becomes contraband?
All I know is this: Whichever executive cooked up the idea of drafting Mr. Potato Head into the culture war is looking pretty good right about know.