Nerf, the toy gun company known around the world, unveiled their new mascot on Friday and… it’s a doozy for sure. The mascot, Murph, is described by AdWeek as an anthropomorphic character made entirely out of foam darts that is “a playful spirit and gifted athlete,” and also happens to go by they/them pronouns.
“We wanted to introduce a mascot that represents this ageless, unbridled fun that lives in all of us and creates a physical embodiment of that feeling you get when you play with Nerf,” said Adam Kleinman, the global Vice President of Hasbro, Nerf’s parent company.
“Nerf recognizes that while screens are great, there remains a need for kids, and their parents, to get out, get active and make memories.”
Murph is included in Nerf’s “Unleash the Play in You” marketing campaign and has been announced to appear in stores, advertisements, and social media content throughout the month.
Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of people don’t like Murph very much. “Nightmarish”, “creepy”, and a slew of other unsatisfied comments have been thrown their way. However, there are those users who have expressed love for the design, even if it’s just for the funny factor.
If nothing else, props to Nerf for trying something new and trying to get kids outside. Their design team just needs a good-old Twitter roast to reach its full potential. You can check out some more reactions to Murph below.