Hasbro is powering up its iconic Play-Doh brand with a new licensed range of superhero-themed playsets for kids ages four and up based on Marvel’s Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Black Panther IPs.
Spanning six SKUs, this exclusive product line dropped yesterday in Walmart stores across North America. Each playset features a bendable Marvel hero action figure, colored Play-Doh pots and a unique play prompt, such as molding new armor onto Iron Man, slicing through Play-Doh enemies with Black Panther’s claws, and building new bricks and walls for Hulk to smash to pieces.
Hasbro acquired the Play-Doh brand when it purchased American toyco Kenner in 1991 for US$500 million. It has since developed a wide range of licensed Play-Doh construction sets, including SpongeBob SquarePants’ Pineapple House, Bluey Make ‘n Mash costumes and Peppa Pig’s ice cream truck.
After more than 60 years, Play-Doh is still one of the top-performing arts & crafts brands in the toy market. According to Circana, Hasbro’s Play-Doh products were five of the 10 top-selling SKUs in the category at US retailers last year. And its classic colors compound assortment finished the year in second place overall, only losing out to LEGO’s The Great Wave Hokusai set.