Created in 1952, which was the first children's toy ever advertised on television in the United States?

Mr. Potato Head is the answer. Created by George Lerner and marketed by Hassenfeld Brothers, the company later known as Hasbro, Mr. Potato Head used removable plastic face parts and helped mark a major shift in U.S. toy advertising by using television commercials aimed directly at children.

The Original Mr. Potato Head Kit

Mr. Potato Head was introduced in 1952 as a kit of plastic facial features and accessories. The original version did not include the familiar full plastic potato body. Children attached the pieces to a real potato or another vegetable, which made the toy unusual because the main “body” came from the kitchen rather than the box.

A New Kind of Toy Advertising

Mr. Potato Head is widely credited as the first children’s toy advertised directly on television in the United States. That mattered because television let toy companies speak to children in their own homes instead of relying only on store displays, catalogs, or print ads aimed at parents. The TV advertising helped make the toy a major commercial success and showed how powerful children’s commercials could become in the toy business.

From Real Potato to Plastic Body

The familiar plastic potato body was added later as the product changed and safety standards became more important. That shift moved Mr. Potato Head away from using real vegetables while keeping the same basic play pattern of mixing eyes, noses, mouths, hats, and other accessories. The toy’s 1952 debut remains important because it combined a simple parts-based design with a new television advertising model for children’s toys.