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Fans Vote To Add Cat, Nix Iron As Monopoly Changes Game Pieces

The newest Monopoly token, a cat. (Steven Senne/AP)
The newest Monopoly token, a cat. (Steven Senne/AP)

Scottie the dog has a new nemesis in Monopoly after fans voted in an online contest to add a cat token to the property trading game, replacing the iron, toy maker Hasbro Inc. announced Wednesday.

The results were announced after the shoe, wheelbarrow and iron were neck and neck for elimination in the final hours of voting that sparked passionate efforts by fans to save their favorite tokens, and by businesses eager to capitalize on publicity surrounding pieces that represent their products.

The vote on Facebook closed just before midnight on Tuesday, marking the first time that fans have had a say on which of the eight tokens to add and which one to toss.

Other pieces that contested for a spot on Monopoly included a robot, diamond ring, helicopter and guitar. Fans from more than 120 countries voted.

"We put five new tokens out for our fans to vote on and there were a lot of fans of the many different tokens, but I think there were a lot of cat lovers in the world that reached out and voted for the cat to be the new token for Monopoly," said Jonathan Berkowitz, vice president for Hasbro gaming marketing.

"I'm sad to see the iron go," Berkowitz added. "Personally, I'm a big fan of the racecar so I'm very relieved it was saved but it is sad to see the iron go."

The social-media buzz created by the Save Your Token Campaign attracted numerous companies that pushed to protect specific tokens that reflect their products.

That includes garden tool maker Ames True Temper Inc. of Camp Hill, Penn., that spoke out in favor of the wheelbarrow and created a series of online videos that support the tool and online shoe retailer Zappos which pushed to save the shoe, Berkowitz said.

"We've even had some companies like Jolly Time Pop Corn reach out and petition to have a popcorn token added to the game, even though that's not one of the new five tokens," he said.

Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out later this year.

This program aired on February 6, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.

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