Nerf's got you covered just in case you were in need of some nightmare fuel, and it's coming courtesy of every 10-year-old boy's favorite toy.
After over 50 years on the market, Hasbro decided that 2022 was the year they'd finally create a mascot for their enormously popular foam dart gun. Sounds innocuous enough, right? Well, maybe it would've been if they had created anyone but Murph.
An anthropomorphic collection of Nerf darts, the faceless Murph is the star of a multi-year marketing campaign titled “Unleash the Play in You." The only problem is that Murph doesn't really scream "fun" per se, as it would probably be more accurate to call them a terrifying mop wearing a bright orange basketball jersey and a pair of the ugliest shoes known to man.
Even so, Ad Weekreported that Nerf is trying to position Murph as a symbol of "ageless, unbridled fun," who acts as "a physical embodiment of that feeling you get when you play with Nerf," with the brand's Senior Vice President and General Manager Adam Kleinman apparently characterizing them as "a playful spirit and gifted athlete."
“Nerf recognizes that while screens are great, there remains a need for kids, and their parents, to get out, get active and make memories,” Kleinman said, before the publication went on to note that Murph was created from "internal research showing parents desire to create moments of active play they experienced as kids with their own children."
Granted, it seems as if the internet-at-large would like a word with whoever was in that focus group, as the majority of commenters found Nerf's new mascot to be a frightening mass of "sentient" microplastics "hunting you for sport and your delicious human meat." And honestly, we can't help but agree.
Check out what other Twitter users are saying about this "child-friendly" nightmare fuel below.
The microplastics have become sentient https://t.co/Lvt3M0ty4b
— Justin Whang 🐙 (@JustinWhang) June 17, 2022
finally: a mascot who looks like he is about to steal my bones https://t.co/PDsjRahTXD
— soul nate (@MNateShyamalan) June 18, 2022
"no, no, Murph is not hunting you for sport and your delicious human meat, he is merely trying to
— Alex Zalben (@azalben) June 17, 2022
𝖚𝖓𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖑𝖆𝖞 𝖎𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚 pic.twitter.com/2dwRJOdOx8
Trail cam Murph (real) pic.twitter.com/Fb15IAnP9F
— Luke Baker (@spacemacchiato) June 18, 2022
NERF has introduced their new mascot, “Murph,” a big weird featureless terrifying gun-toting bigfoot thing made of foam darts who yearns to “unleash the play in you.” Murph is a fuckin nightmare and I love him, thank you NERF Brand for this floppy affront to God. https://t.co/CehbV4lZry pic.twitter.com/XYjOKykkNu
— Rob Sheridan (@rob_sheridan) June 17, 2022
“It’s murph or nothin’” he says as he snaps your neck. https://t.co/oq2aEDeEsZ
— 💣 shackleton 💣 (@shackle_ton) June 17, 2022
Hasbro introduced the new NERF mascot, Murph. Pictured here with his cousin the Tooth Child from Candle Cove pic.twitter.com/5ygGZmQdaV
— HardReturn (@ian_reid) June 18, 2022
Photo courtesy of Hasbro