Advertising toys on television was an idea that rose to prominence by the 1950s. At the beginning of the decade, only 9% of U.S. homes had a television, but by 1959, that number had jumped to 85.9%, according to Britannica. The decade saw a surge in TV shows aimed at children, from “Romper Room” to the “Mickey Mouse Club.” Even so, aiming advertising at kids was a radical notion.
“The idea of putting adverts to children on television was a brand new concept,” Paul Kurnit, an advertising executive from New York, told the BBC in a 2012 interview (Kurnit passed away in 2022). “It was revolutionary because it hadn’t been done before. It was a dramatically new idea to pitch to children.” Hasbro’s idea paid off handsomely — the company sold more than 1 million Mr. Potato Heads toys in the first year, per the Idaho Potato Museum.
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