Hasbro trademarks Play-Doh's "sweet, slightly musky" scent
One of the most iconic scents of childhood, Play-Doh's, has been trademarked.
Hasbro, the company behind the modeling clay, made the announcement Friday:
The trademarked scent, which Hasbro formally describes as a unique scent formed through the combination of a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough, makes the PLAY-DOH brand one of the few active and certainly most famous scent trademarks in the country..."The scent of PLAY-DOH compound has always been synonymous with childhood and fun," said Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of Global Marketing for the PLAY-DOH brand. "By officially trademarking the iconic scent, we are able to protect an invaluable point of connection between the brand and fans for years to come."
Apparently it's not easy getting a scent trademarked because few qualify. The Wall Street Journal reports, "In the U.S., you have to show that a fragrance serves no important practical function other than to help identify and distinguish a brand. The smell of an air freshener or a women's perfume wouldn't count, for example."
To obtain a non-conventional trademark such as scent, it first has to be accurately described. A sample of the scent then has to be sent to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for inspection, which Hasbro did in February 2017. They were granted the trademark on May 15, 2018.
Interesting side note, Play-Doh wasn't invented for children. It was first created as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s. By the mid-1950s, because so many kids were playing with it, it got a rebrand as the product we know today.