Washington Poison Center Introduces Mr. Yum

The Washington Poison Center held a press conference today to announce the introduction of Mr. Yum, a new character that will be used to further their mission to properly condition children against poisons.

The new Mr. Yum character retains the familiar green color of the Mr. Yuk brand, but in place of an angry face sticking out its tongue, Mr. Yum sports a sly grin as he licks his lips.

“We have successfully leveraged the Mr. Yuk brand for many years,” said WPC spokesperson Autumn Allen, “but we felt like we had reached the limits of where we could go with Mr. Yuk, and we needed to expand the brand.”

The WPC intends to broaden the reach of the brand by using Mr. Yum in a variety of applications where Mr. Yuk would not have made sense.

Allen gave some examples of the possible new uses for which the WPC will be promoting Mr. Yum. “Families could put them on candies and other tasty treats, indicating to the children that what’s inside is yummy and okay to eat,” she explained. “Alternatively, those families that are sensitive to the latest parenting techniques know that telling children ‘no’ is damaging to their precious developing psyches, so they could use reverse psychology by putting Mr. Yum on poisons and encouraging their children to eat as much as they can.”

“Mr. Yum really opens up a near-endless amount of marketing opportunities,” explained Allen.

As a non-profit organization, the Washington Poison Center is dependent on public funding and the financial support of an indifferent community to staff their toll-free advice hotlines. By synergizing Mr. Yum into exciting new branding opportunities, they hope to build additional revenue streams, eventually becoming financially self-sufficient.

“Because the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh owns the exclusive rights to Mr. Yuk, we were only allowed to give away stickers and magnets bearing his likeness,” said Allen. “However, since Mr. Yum is a new, original creation of the Washington Poison Center, we can now explore all kinds of merchandising and other profitable ventures.”

In order to maximize the money-making potential of their new intellectual property, the WPC will be exploring Mr. Yum action figures, Mr. Yum lunch boxes, and even a new Mr. Yum animated series. They are also considering licensing agreements with poison control centers in other states, according to Allen.

“We’re really excited about Mr. Yum, and we hope that he will be even more successful at brainwashing children than Mr. Yuk has been over the years,” said Allen.