mrpotatohead.net-1980s

The 1980s

As late as the early 1980's, the large brown 1970's Mr. Potato Head as well as the Super Potato Head set were still available on store shelves. But Hasbro was hard at work on something all new. The rebirth of Mr. Potato Head was just on the horizon. Maybe it was the fear of middle age. Or maybe it was simply the desire to set him up to survive in the fast paced, convenience oriented world of the 1980's. Whatever the reason, the metamorphosis of Mr. Potato Head was complete by 1983.

His shape and color were changed to basically the shape he is today... similar to a large light brown egg. He was given bendable, non-removable arms, and perhaps the most revolutionary change, a trap door backside for the convenient storing of extra parts! In addition, the round holes returned, and with them returned the fun of sticking an ear in his eyehole, or the freedom to have feet growing out of his head. And it was about this time that Hasbro briefly changed the Romper Room logo to Hasbro Preschool. But by the time the 1986 packages arrived, the prominent logo was Playskool.

And these changes must have gotten the spuds thinking. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head apparently had decided that they were ready to start a family. So on February 11, 1985, Baby Potato Head was born. This smaller, rounder version of Mr. Potato head could be dressed as a baby, or a young child. He was available in the all new Mr. Potato Head Family playset.

The popularity of Mr. Potato Head continued to rise during the remainder of the 80's. Not bad for a toy that had been around for more than a generation! The 1986 Saturday morning cartoon show My Little Pony & Friends featured a regular segment with the all new Potato Head Kids! The toy versions of these little chips off the ol' potato were smaller than the Potato Head Baby and had removable hats and feet. The original 12 characters were sold separately at toy and retail outlets in 1986. But as early as 1987, the number of kids and accessories had expanded. They were offered as fast food premiums from companies including McDonald's, Wendy's, and Avon. The success at McDonald's was so overwhelming that they brought them back again in some regions in February of 1992.

Around 1987, Hasbro expanded the versatility of Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head by replacing the non-removable bendy arms with arms that could be removed and swapped out. Also in 1987, as Mr. Potato Head hit thirty-five years old, he joined the all new health craze and "kicked the habit" as they say. Mr. Potato Head's signature pipe, that had been with him from the start, was traded in for running shoes. In a publicity extravaganza, Mr. Potato Head turned over his pipe to surgeon general C. Everett Coop and became the poster spud for the American Cancer Society's Great American Smoke Out.

The 1980's were an exciting time for collectors because is was the first time Hasbro released a large variety of Mr. Potato Head items other than toys. He had become somewhat of an icon in the toy industry, and dozens of related licensed products were now available. If you look hard enough, many 1980’s Mr. Potato Head items like shirts, puzzles, and videos can still be found.

Another interesting fact about this era is that many minor box variations begin to appear. The early 1980s boxes featured a rainbow stripe that ran up the left side of the box. In 1986, all of the toys were released in white boxes with a blue stripe across the top. Some of these boxes appear the same at first glance, but close inspection reveals minor adjustments in the graphics or text. A collector must look close or chance missing out on a hard to find variation! An example can be seen in the circles to the left. A close up of two seemingly identical boxes shows a difference in the first line of text. Another variation to look for is Canadian Mr. Potato Head boxes with French and English printing. The French versions identify Mr. Potato Head as “M. Patate”.