Tickle Me Elmo

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tickle Me Elmo (German: Kitzel Mich Elmo ) is the name of several characters that are based on the Sesame Street doll Elmo and react to light pressure with hysterical laughter and fidgeting. The first generation of the toy was introduced to the US market in 1996 by the Mattel subsidiary Tyco . In 2006 , the sister company Fisher-Price published a successor. Both characters are extremely successful commercially in the United States.

There are also a number of other Elmo figures from Mattel , some of which are very similar to Tickle Me Elmo, but are not "ticklish".

First generation

When a Tickle Me Elmo of the first generation is pressed onto the stomach, he chuckles; the second time he says “ Oh no! That tickles! ”(German:“ Oh no! That tickles! ”); the third time he laughs hysterically and shudders. The reaction is triggered by means of a pressure switch and the wobbling is generated using a larger version of a vibration motor , as is common in cell phones or game controllers with force feedback technology. You can hear Kevin Clash, who also lends his voice to Elmo on Sesame Street.

The inventor of the toy, Ron Druben, came up with the idea of ​​a "ticklish" toy when he observed two children playing in 1992 and tickling each other . He had never heard of the Sesame Street figure Elmo before. He initially planned to give the toy the appearance of a plush monkey. He presented a corresponding design with the name Tickles the monkey to Tyco in March 1994 after a competitor had previously rejected the concept. Although those responsible at the toy manufacturer liked the concept of tickling, they were not satisfied with the appearance of the doll and planned to design it like one of the Looney Tunes figures: Taz, the Tasmanian devil . Tyco signed a contract with Druben and his colleague Greg Hyman to develop a Tickle Me Taz , but before this was implemented, Tyco returned the license to Looney Tunes to Warner Bros. in 1995. After the company took over the marketing of Sesame Street toys, the doll was given the shape of Elmo, one of the most popular Sesame Street characters in the USA . In the opinion of the manufacturers, his personality also best fits the concept of the toy.

In February 1996, Tickle Me Elmo aroused only restrained enthusiasm at the US Toy Fair in New York , where dealers stock up on pre-Christmas business. When it was launched in July, the manufacturer Tyco expected to sell around 400,000 units by the end of the year. In September, Tyco broke the company's tradition of not promoting preschooler products and launched a TV advertising campaign for Tickle Me Elmo aimed at reaching young mothers in the context of daytime talk shows. Additional television presence was achieved through product placement . In October , the presenter Rosie O'Donnell made Tickle Me Elmo the central element of a modified Groucho Marx gag in her talk show , in which she gave away 200 dolls that had been made available to her by Tyco to the audience. On an issue of the Today Show , co-host Bryant Gumbel had one of the Elmo characters on his lap throughout the show. With this strategy, Elmo made 1,000 television appearances. At US $ 1.5 million, the costs of the campaign significantly exceeded  the development costs of the product of around US $ 100,000. In 1997, its success earned the agency responsible, D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, a silver EFFIE , a prize for efficient brand communication. The agency Freeman Public Relations , which was also involved , was awarded the main prize in 1997 by the Public Relations Society of New York .

In the run-up to Christmas 1996, the toy was considered a “must-have” in North America and sparked a rush of toy stores. On Black Friday , the unofficial start of the pre-Christmas shopping season in the USA, the product was sold out nationwide within around two hours. Although the manufacturer increased production to a maximum of 50,000 dolls per week in October, it was no longer able to meet demand. Those willing to buy waited in or in front of shops for supplies; Multiple scuffles broke out over the few still available specimens. For example, when on the evening of December 14, 1996, a crowd of around 300 waiting for the toys to be delivered at a Walmart store in Fredericton, Canada around midnight saw a supermarket employee with one of the coveted characters, a scuffle broke out in which the employee sustained a broken rib and a concussion, among other things. Due to the enormous demand, the prices for the figure skyrocketed. Toy stores sold the figure, which originally cost around US $ 30, for US $ 54, People reported it was on sale for US $ 1,500, with other sources reporting as high as US $ 7,000. Tickle Me Elmo temporarily became an object of speculation . The 1996 pre-Christmas store sold over 1 million copies, making Tickle Me Elmo one of the best-selling toys of the season. During this time alone, Mattel achieved sales of over US $ 22 million with the figure. Time magazine rated the excitement about the Tickle Me Elmo in 2010 as the greatest that there had ever been a toy.

variants

At the beginning of 1997, variants of the toy in the form of further Sesame Street figures ( Ernie , Bibo and the Cookie Monster ) came onto the US market, none of which, however, achieved the popularity or sales figures of the original.

For the fifth anniversary of Tickle Me Elmo figure in the fall of 2001 as a special Surprise Edition (dt. Surprise output ) offered. As of January 9, 2002, five of the figures from this edition no longer laughed when they were pressed, but instead informed the owner that he had won a prize. The main prize included, among other things, a credit of US $ 200,000 for the purchase of a house, savings bonds worth US $ 60,000 and a VW New Beetle in the Elmo design.

The approximately 70 cm large jumbo version of the Tickle Me Elmos dates from 2002 and was available in two different versions at Walmart .

Second generation: TMX

A follow-up to the first Tickle Me Elmos was introduced to the public live on the ABC news program Good Morning America and hit American stores on September 19, 2006 at a price of around US $ 40. It bears the suffix TMX , which also stands for “ Tickle Me Extreme ” (German: “Klitzel mich extreme”) and - as an allusion to the tenth birthday of the toy - “ Tickle Me 10 ” (German: “Kitzel Mich 10”). Meanwhile, Fisher-Price was responsible for the Sesame Street product line within the Mattel group .

The TMX-Elmo is around 35 cm tall and can be "tickled" on the chin, stomach or feet. If you press him in one of these places, he starts to laugh and pats himself twice on the leg, then falls back into a sitting position and gets up again laughing. If he is tickled a second time, he repeats the sequence of movements, then sits down again and falls backwards, kicks his legs and laughs even harder. With the third tickling he rolls over his stomach, hits his stomach with his hand in a fit of laughter and then gets up again. He says sayings like “ You tickled Elmo ” (German: “You tickled Elmo”), “ You did it again ” (German: “You did it again”), “ Again! Again! ”(German:“ Again! Again! ”),“ Give Elmo a break, please! ”(German:“ Let Elmo 'ne break, please! ”) Or“ I can't stop laughing ”(German:“ I can't stop laughing ”). Toy analyst Chris Byrne described the character's abilities to USA Today as a “quantum leap” and “breakthrough” in plush toys for preschoolers. Since Furby was launched in 1998 , there has been no such hype about such a toy.

Like its predecessor, the TMX variant of the toy figure became a box-office hit: According to Walmart spokesman Jolanda Stewart, five to six dolls per minute were sold in the Wal-Mart stores after the figure appeared, as was the online sales of the retail group exceeded expectations by 150%. The holdings by the flagship stores of Toys "R" Us in Manhattan were sold out within two minutes. In Florida , shortly after the sales began, a man took one of the characters away from another under threat of otherwise shooting him. In view of the experience Mattel had made with the sale of the first generation, industry experts suspect that the supply bottlenecks were deliberately planned by Mattel in order to be able to keep the price high through the shortage of goods; Mattel itself denies this allegation. Around 250,000 figures were sold within two weeks. This makes the TMX-Elmo the biggest sales hit of the pre-Christmas period in the 50-year history of the toy manufacturer Mattel and, together with Barbie, the most popular toy of 2006.

variants

As TMX Friends , variations of the toy in the shape of the Sesame Street figures Ernie and Cookie Monster were released. They are around 7.5 cm smaller and around US $ 10 cheaper than the TMX-Elmo and respond to pressure with different movements and sayings.

In addition, various special editions of the character were published, including warning and top secret editions, in which Elmo answered the opening of a preview flap on the packaging with slogans such as “ No peeking! ”(German:“ Don't look! ”) Reacts. There is also a Try-Me edition, where the character's reactions can be tried out through a hole in the packaging. An eXtra Special Edition of the toy was released for Christmas 2007 , which has a star-shaped sticker on a collar and shows new reactions to certain sequences of actions (such as pressing, switching on and off or moving the extremities). Mattel has a website with instructions on how to trigger these.

A special edition of the Barbie doll, another product from Mattel , was accompanied by a miniature of the Top Secret TMX Elmo, wore a T-shirt with Elmo imprint and the words “TMX” and had a handbag in the look the top secret packaging. This barbie was available with light and dark skin color.

A particularly small variant in the form of a key fob also dates from 2007.

As the successor to the TMX Elmo, the figure Elmo Live from 2008 is sometimes seen, which - among many other functions - also reacts to a tickle on the stomach with giggles. When marketing the figure, however, the manufacturer Fisher-Price focuses on the figure's ability to speak with synchronous mouth movements.

International sales and localizations

In English, Tickle Me Elmo is distributed in Canada, Great Britain and Australia in addition to the USA. The toy was localized for distribution in other language areas, i.e. the language and, in some cases, the appearance were also adapted. In Germany, for example, the doll has been offered since 1997 as Kitzel Mich Ernie with the look and voice of Ernie from Sesame Street, because he is better known and more popular here; In addition, a laughing fun Elmo and a Kitzel Mich Samson were offered. The second generation of the doll can be bought in Germany since September 20, 2006 as KMX Ernie , "KMX" stands for "Kitzel Mich eXtrem". The Dutch edition also bears the figure of Ernie, while the French and Japanese editions bear the Elmos. In Spanish, there are both Ernie and Elmo.

Books

In September 1997, Random House published a twelve-page reader called Tickle Me, Elmo! on the market. The children's book My Name Is Elmo was published by Golden Press in 1993 . In it Elmo tells about himself and the things he likes. Apart from the fact that he likes to be tickled, there is no reference to Tickle Me Elmo. Nevertheless, a new edition of the book appeared in December 1997 with a changed title: Tickle Me: My Name is Elmo .

Awards

Both generations of the toy have received multiple awards. With the Toy of the Year Award from FamilyFun Magazine , the first-generation Tickle Me Elmo received the " Toy Industry Oscar". He won the Platinum Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio . The Toy Industry Association , the union of the most important toy manufacturers in the USA, named TMX Elmo 2007 Toy of the Year . At the same time, the doll won the award for the best toy for preschool children. Parents magazine chose it as one of the top ten toys.

Reception in pop culture

The toy figure's extraordinary success sparked an echo in pop culture, especially in film and television.

The animated series The Simpsons makes several references to the Tickle Me Elmo. In the episode The Bad Doll Lustikus , a toy manufacturer complains about the enormous pressure in the industry to come up with the new Furby or Tickle Me Elmo. The Elmo doll can be seen briefly in the episode Moe Baby Blues : When Moe tickles it, she exclaims indignantly: "No means: No!" And slaps him.

Elsewhere, Elmo’s concept of the Tickle Me doll is carried over to another character. For example, the Simpsons episode The Favorite Unlucky Family features a Tickle-Me- Krusty doll, and the Futurama film Leela and the Encyclopods features a Tickle-Me- Bender character . In a MADtv -Sketch with a Tickle Me Emo, the emo youth culture is poked fun at. Other parodies include Tickle Me Ackbar (an allusion to a Star Wars character) in the comic about Clerks , Tickle-Me-Hellmo (with reference to English “ hell ”, in German: “Hell”) in Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and the Tickle Me Freud doll, which can be purchased on the Internet portal Stupid.com .

literature

  • Balog: The Untold Toy Success Story: Elmo's Evolution Is a Surprise to Those Involved . In: USA Today . December 11, 1996 (English, petting-zoo.net [accessed April 4, 2009]).
  • Just tickled . In: People . Vol. 47, No. 1 , January 13, 1997 ( people.com [accessed April 4, 2009]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Fisher-Price story. (No longer available online.) Mattel, archived from the original on November 19, 2008 ; Retrieved April 2, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mattel.de
  2. ↑ See only: More Sesame Street plush figures. (No longer available online.) In: Fisher-Price's online shop. Formerly in the original ; accessed on June 5, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.fisher-ütung  
  3. ↑ Tickle Me Twins. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 12, 2009 ; accessed on June 19, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / casperelectronics.com
  4. ↑ How does a vibrating cell phone or pager work? In: How Stuff Works . Retrieved February 4, 2009 .
  5. ^ Tim Morrison: Kevin Clash: The Man Behind Elmo. In: Internet pages of Time magazine . November 10, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2009 (American English, interview with Kevin Clash).
  6. ↑ a b c Balog: The Untold Toy Success Story: Elmo's Evolution Is a Surprise to Those Involved . In: USA Today . December 11, 1996 (American English, online article [accessed April 4, 2009]). Article online ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.petting-zoo.net
  7. ↑ Susan Gregory Thomas: Buy, buy baby: how consumer culture manipulates parents and harms young minds . Houghton Mifflin, 2007, ISBN 978-0-618-46351-0 , pp. 111–112 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed December 21, 2010]).
  8. ^ A b Anthony Ramirez: Waiting for Elmo. In: New York Times website . Retrieved December 8, 1996, April 4, 2009 (American English).
  9. ↑ Joe Sharkey: Elmo, the Spirit of Christmas. In: New York Times website . December 22, 1996, accessed April 4, 2009 .
  10. ^ Tickle Me Elmo: Using the Media to Create a Marketing Sensation. (No longer available online.) In: Internet presence of the Media Awareness Network. Archived from the original on December 24, 2008 ; accessed on April 4, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.media-awareness.ca
  11. ↑ a b Tickle Me Elmo Laugh's Last. November 11, 1998, accessed April 4, 2009 .
  12. ^ Tyco Preschool's "Tickle Me Elmo". (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 4, 2010 ; accessed on May 14, 2009 .
  13. ↑ Jennifer Steinhauer: A Strange Twist in Christmas Gifts. In: New York Times website . December 7, 1996, accessed April 4, 2009 .
  14. ↑ a b c Just Tickled . In: People . Vol. 47, No. 1 , January 13, 1997 ( online article [accessed April 4, 2009]).
  15. ↑ a b Parija B. Kavilanz: Following TMX Elmo, here come his friends. In: CNN Money . January 29, 2007, accessed February 5, 2009 .
  16. ↑ Kristi Oloffson: From Tickle Me Elmo to Squinkies: Top 10 Toy Crazes. In: Internet pages of Time magazine . December 23, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011 (American English).
  17. ↑ Katie Dean: Elmo's Worth More Than a Tickle. In: Wired . Retrieved February 4, 2009 .
  18. ↑ The earlier version has plastic eyes; the eyes of the later ones are made of plush, see: Jumbo Tickle Me Elmo. In: elmoandfriends.com. Retrieved May 7, 2009 .
  19. ↑ a b c Parija B. Kavilanz: Top-secret Elmo revealed! In: CNN Money . September 19, 2006, accessed February 5, 2009 .
  20. ↑ Tickle Me Elmo X TMX Elmo. Retrieved February 5, 2009 (video of the character on YouTube ).
  21. ↑ Olivia Barker: Meet 'Top Secret Elmo'. In: USA Today website . February 1, 2006, accessed February 4, 2009 .
  22. ↑ Tickle Pickle: Your Elmo or Your Life! (No longer available online.) In: New York Daily News website . September 25, 2006, archived from the original on December 26, 2007 ; accessed on February 5, 2009 .
  23. ↑ Bruce Horovitz: Six strategies marketers use to get kids to want stuff bad. In: USA Today website . November 22, 2006, accessed February 4, 2009 .
  24. ↑ KMX Ernie makes Santa Claus laugh! (No longer available online.) Mattel on November 20, 2006, archived from the original on November 16, 2008 ; Retrieved April 2, 2009 (press release). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mattel.de
  25. ↑ Jayne O'Donnell: Buyers not tickled by toy shortages. In: USA Today website . November 17, 2006, accessed April 4, 2009 .
  26. ↑ Fisher Price TMX Special Edition. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 7, 2009 ; accessed on February 5, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tmxspecialedition.com
  27. ↑ Denise Van Patten: Top 10 Hot Holiday Barbie Dolls 2006. In: About.com. Retrieved May 29, 2009 . - Especially for dark-skinned Barbie see: African-American Barbie Dolls. Retrieved May 29, 2009 .
  28. ↑ TMX Elmo Key Chain. In: elmoandfriends.com. Retrieved May 7, 2009 .
  29. ^ Elmo Live Toy. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 20, 2008 ; accessed on June 5, 2009 .
  30. ^ Elmo Live. (No longer available online.) In: Fisher-Price's online shop. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008 ; accessed on June 5, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fisher-ütung
  31. ↑ Andrew Lim: TMX Elmo: Best Christmas present ever? In: CNET . December 12, 2006, accessed May 26, 2009 .
  32. ↑ TMX Elmo. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 11, 2009 ; accessed on May 26, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.girl.com.au
  33. ↑ Tickle me Ernie. (No longer available online.) In: Muppet Wiki. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012 ; accessed on December 22, 2012 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / muppet.wikia.com
  34. ↑ Tickle Me Samson. In: Muppet Wiki. Retrieved December 22, 2012 .
  35. ↑ KMX Ernie is here! (No longer available online.) Mattel, September 22, 2006, archived from the original on November 16, 2008 ; Retrieved April 2, 2009 (press release). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mattel.de
  36. ↑ Ansgar Siemens: Mattel - Win by playing. In: Focus Money Online . November 29, 2006, accessed May 3, 2009 .
  37. ↑ Various localized editions at elmoandfriends.com (English, accessed on May 7, 2009): Lachspab Elmo (German); KMX Ernie (Dutch); TMX Elmo (French); 5th Anniversary Japanese Version (Japanese); EQR Ernie , TMX Elmo and Elmo Que Risa (all three Spanish).
  38. ↑ Stephanie St. Pierre: Tickle Me Elmo! Random House, 1997, ISBN 978-0-679-88754-6 (illustrations by David Prebenna; 12 pages).
  39. ↑ Constance Allen: My Name Is Elmo . Golden Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0-307-11541-6 (Illustrated by Maggie Swanson; 24 pages).
  40. ↑ Constance Allen: Tickle Me: My Name Is Elmo . Golden Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-307-98837-9 (Illustrated by Maggie Swanson; 24 pages).
  41. ↑ The Coveted FamilyFun Magazine Toy of the Year (TOY) Results are In. (No longer available online.) October 3, 2006, archived from the original on October 10, 2008 ; Retrieved June 17, 2009 (FamilyFun Magazine press release). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / familyfun.go.com
  42. ^ Virginia Breen: The Play's the thing kids field-test new toys. (No longer available online.) In: New York Daily News website . August 4, 1999, formerly in the original ; accessed on May 14, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nydailynews.com  
  43. ^ Winners (2007). (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 21, 2009 ; accessed on May 7, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.toyassociation.org
  44. ↑ Janet Simons: Toy wonder - Kids, teachers, parents test the best in play. (No longer available online.) In: Rocky Mountain News. November 13, 2006, formerly in the original ; accessed on May 7, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.rockymountainnews.com  
  45. ↑ The Simpsons, episode 235: The evil doll Lustikus , approx. 14th minute. In the original: "Do you have any idea how much pressure we're under to come up with the new furby or tickle me elmo?"
  46. ↑ The Simpsons, episode 313: Moe Baby Blues , approx. 10th minute.
  47. ↑ The Simpsons, Episode 188: The Favorite Unlucky Family , about 9th minute.
  48. ^ Futurama Voice Actors. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 24, 2008 ; accessed on April 24, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.futurama-madhouse.com.ar
  49. ↑ MADtv: Episode # 1209. In: TV.com. Retrieved April 2, 2009 .
  50. ↑ Sarah Maccarelli: How to Buy Fun and Unique Gag Gifts for Adults. (No longer available online.) April 19, 2006, archived from the original on December 23, 2009 ; accessed on February 5, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.associatedcontent.com
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on June 23, 2009 .