Remember rolling out Play-Doh cookies? Fashioning Play-Doh pizza? Or shaping a Play-Doh hamburger, complete with lettuce, tomato, and sesame seed bun? The satisfying squish between the fingers and the pleasing Play-Doh aroma are part of almost everyone’s childhood memories. Toymaker Hasbro recently captured that one-of-a-kind Play-Doh scent—and trademarked it.
A trademark is a recognizable design, expression, or symbol that shows a product belongs to a certain company. Think of Nike’s swoosh and Apple’s apple. Sometimes unusual things get a trademark. Cadbury chocolate company registered its label’s exact shade of purple. Usain Bolt trademarked his lightning bolt victory pose.
Some trademarks are for “sensory marks.” Those are feels, scents, or sounds. Tarzan of the Apes author Edgar Rice Burroughs trademarked the Tarzan yell—“a yell consisting of a series of approximately 10 sounds, alternating between the chest and falsetto registers of the voice.” Maybe you know the one: “Ahhhhh-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhhhhhhhh-ah-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhh!”
But back to Play-Doh. In 1956, Noah McVicker invented a clay-like substance for cleaning wallpaper. The scrubbing product never caught on. But a nursery school teacher suggested re-imagining the flexible putty as a toy for children. Play-Doh was born.
The Hasbro toy and board game company, current owner of the Play-Doh brand, applied for a scent trademark last year. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recognized Play-Doh’s distinctive smell and issued a registered trademark, something rarely given for a scent.
In fact, there are fewer than a dozen trademarked scents in the United States. Among those are a plumeria blossom-scented embroidery thread, strawberry toothbrushes, a “flowery musk scent” sprayed in Verizon stores, a “minty” pain-relief patch, and now . . . Play-Doh.
Hasbro describes Play-Doh’s scent as a “sweet, slightly musky, vanilla fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, combined with the smell of a salted, wheat-based dough.” The wheat dough—Play-Doh is made of water, salt, and flour—explains both the name and why some people have the urge to taste it. But don’t! The company insists Play-Doh is “not a food product and is not intended to be eaten.”
According to Hasbro, Play-Doh’s smell “has always been synonymous with childhood and fun.” The company believes its scent trademark protects “an invaluable point of connection between the brand and fans.” And with over three billion cans sold and a National Play-Doh Day on September 16, Play-Doh has most definitely made a strong connection.
