To Yoda's eternal dismay, Hasbro's (NYSE:HAS) Mr. Potato Head has done the unthinkable -- straying from the path of upstanding righteousness, he has allowed himself to be seduced by the Dark Side of the Force.
Say it ain't so!
But it is, my friends -- sadly, it is. It's all right here, where you can read it for yourself if you'd like. Mr. Potato Head is no longer in the building. Say hello to Darth Tater.
This is just plain wrong in my book; I mean, how on Earth can the little potato guy do this? Was he bored with his life? Looking for some action? Didn't get enough fame from being featured in Disney's (NYSE:DIS) and Pixar's (NASDAQ:PIXR) Toy Story films and so felt it necessary to up the ante by becoming an evil agent of Darth Sidious, of all entities?
In all seriousness, I think this is a very cool move on Hasbro's part. But I have to wonder whether that company came up with the idea or whether Lucasfilm pushed the development team into doing it -- not that they would need much of a push, because this is just such a fun idea. The whole objective here is to leverage Hasbro's Playskool brand for purposes of seeding a whole new generation of Star Wars fans. It's a strategy that benefits not only Hasbro's line of figures and accessories based on the famous franchise, which targets older kids, but also George Lucas and his films. Let's be honest: Whether or not any of us likes to admit it, there has been something of a zeitgeist of disappointment surrounding the new films, and that carries the potential to harm the franchise's image in the eyes of younger generations. Anything that can promote the Star Wars brand to very young consumers is a positive for Mr. Lucas. Even though the upcoming Revenge of the Sith feature, to be released by Fox (NYSE:FOX), is slated to be the last film in the series (but never count anything out, no matter what anybody says), you can bet there will be other projects down the line set in the Skywalker universe, like the cartoon series that ran on Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX) Cartoon Network a while back.
Hasbro, which is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation, has a good track record in terms of product creation and marketing. I couldn't help being impressed by this new version of a classic character. (I also couldn't help laughing out loud when I noticed the company's release). Parents wishing to share their love of Star Wars with their offspring will snap this up, as will the legion of collectors who await every new piece of merchandise that comes off the cultural icon's assembly line.
For more articles featuring Star Wars, see the following:
What do you think of Darth Tater? Will it spur sales for Mr. Potato Head, or will parents think it too diabolical for their kids? Use the Hasbro discussion board to post your thoughts. May the Force be with you!
Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Disney.
