Foggy Melson | Stores Sell Out of "Tickle Me Elmo" Toys in Miami, Fla. (December 9, 1996) @foggymelson | Uploaded September 2023 | Updated October 2024, 18 hours ago.
PEOPLE IN STORES CHRISTMAS SHOPPING FOR TOYS; REPORT ON TICKLE ME ELMO SENSATION [END: 00.08.47]
Tickle Me Elmo is a children's plush toy from Tyco Preschool, a division of Tyco Toys, of the Muppet character Elmo from the children's television show Sesame Street. When squeezed, Elmo shakes, vibrates, and recites his trademark giggle.
The toy was first produced in the United States in 1996 and slowly became a fad, reaching its apex during the 1996 Christmas shopping season, with some instances of violence reported over the limited available supply. People reported that the toy, which retailed for $28.99 according to its MSRP, was being re-sold by scalpers in newspapers and on the Internet for up to $1,500 by the end of 1996.[1]
Development
A Tickle Me Elmo toy being "dissected", revealing some of the internal electronic components
"Tickles The Chimp", the precursor to Tickle Me Elmo, was invented by Greg Hyman and Ron Dubren, who were known in the toy industry for having invented Alphie the Robot (a children's learning computer) several years prior.[2] In 1995 it was presented to Tyco Preschool as "Tickles The Chimp," which was a toy monkey with a computer chip which laughed when tickled. At the time Tyco didn't have rights to make the Sesame Street plush, but did have the Looney Tunes plush rights so it was worked on for several months as Tickle Me Tasmanian Devil, they also made Tickle Me versions of baby Bugs Bunny and Tweety, they successfully sold it at WB Studio Store in California. A short time later, Tyco lost rights to do Looney Tunes but gained the rights to Sesame Street, thus starting Tickle Me Elmo. The invention was originally introduced under Cabbage Patch at Hasbro Industries.[citation needed]
Neil Friedman, who was then president of Tyco Preschool, recalled years later that, "When you played with Tickle Me Elmo for the first time, it brought a smile to everyone's face. It was a magical surprise."[3]
1996 Elmo craze
Tickle Me Elmo was released in July 1996, with a supply of 400,000 units. The dolls sold well and remained widely available in stores until the day after Thanksgiving, when they suddenly sold out. With the Christmas shopping season approaching, Tyco Preschool ordered 600,000 more dolls from their suppliers.[4] Promotion was helped by Rosie O'Donnell, who had shown the toy on her popular TV show in early October.[5][6] O'Donnell's "surprise plug" was probably too early to create unexpected demand for Elmo, as the resulting shortages in the stores that sold it happened nearly two months later.[7]
The scarcity of the new toy provoked a "shopping frenzy".[8] Two women were arrested in Chicago for fighting over the doll,[4] while in New York City some people ran after delivery trucks hoping to get their hands on Elmo before it reached stores.[9] Someone allegedly purchased a Tickle Me Elmo for $7,100 in Denver.[8] KBIG in Los Angeles had a radio auction for charity December 20, 1996; Bob's Pharmacy won and purchased a Tickle-Me-Elmo For $18,500. A clerk working at a Wal-Mart store in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada was among those injured by "Elmo-mania". During a Midnight Madness sale on December 14, a crowd of 300 stampeded down the aisle after spotting him being handed a box of the toys by another employee. Trampled, he suffered "a pulled hamstring, injuries to his back, jaw and knee, a broken rib and a concussion".[1]
By the end of December, the entire stock of one million "Tickle Me Elmo" toys had been sold.[10][11]
Other Tickle Me toys
In early 1997, Tyco released new "Tickle Me" toys based on other characters from Sesame Street – first Tickle Me Ernie and Tickle Me Big Bird, then Tickle Me Cookie Monster – but despite good sales, none of these toys achieved as much fame as Tickle Me Elmo.[6] With the re-release of Tickle Me Elmo, Mini Tickle Me Cookie Monster and Mini Tickle Me Ernie were also put on the market.[citation needed]
The "Surprise Edition" of Tickle Me Elmo, issued fall 2001, was an elaborate contest. Five of the "Surprise Edition" Elmos stopped laughing on January 9, 2002, and instead announced to the people squeezing them that they had won a prize. The grand prize was US$200,000.[12]
PEOPLE IN STORES CHRISTMAS SHOPPING FOR TOYS; REPORT ON TICKLE ME ELMO SENSATION [END: 00.08.47]
Tickle Me Elmo is a children's plush toy from Tyco Preschool, a division of Tyco Toys, of the Muppet character Elmo from the children's television show Sesame Street. When squeezed, Elmo shakes, vibrates, and recites his trademark giggle.
The toy was first produced in the United States in 1996 and slowly became a fad, reaching its apex during the 1996 Christmas shopping season, with some instances of violence reported over the limited available supply. People reported that the toy, which retailed for $28.99 according to its MSRP, was being re-sold by scalpers in newspapers and on the Internet for up to $1,500 by the end of 1996.[1]
Development
A Tickle Me Elmo toy being "dissected", revealing some of the internal electronic components
"Tickles The Chimp", the precursor to Tickle Me Elmo, was invented by Greg Hyman and Ron Dubren, who were known in the toy industry for having invented Alphie the Robot (a children's learning computer) several years prior.[2] In 1995 it was presented to Tyco Preschool as "Tickles The Chimp," which was a toy monkey with a computer chip which laughed when tickled. At the time Tyco didn't have rights to make the Sesame Street plush, but did have the Looney Tunes plush rights so it was worked on for several months as Tickle Me Tasmanian Devil, they also made Tickle Me versions of baby Bugs Bunny and Tweety, they successfully sold it at WB Studio Store in California. A short time later, Tyco lost rights to do Looney Tunes but gained the rights to Sesame Street, thus starting Tickle Me Elmo. The invention was originally introduced under Cabbage Patch at Hasbro Industries.[citation needed]
Neil Friedman, who was then president of Tyco Preschool, recalled years later that, "When you played with Tickle Me Elmo for the first time, it brought a smile to everyone's face. It was a magical surprise."[3]
1996 Elmo craze
Tickle Me Elmo was released in July 1996, with a supply of 400,000 units. The dolls sold well and remained widely available in stores until the day after Thanksgiving, when they suddenly sold out. With the Christmas shopping season approaching, Tyco Preschool ordered 600,000 more dolls from their suppliers.[4] Promotion was helped by Rosie O'Donnell, who had shown the toy on her popular TV show in early October.[5][6] O'Donnell's "surprise plug" was probably too early to create unexpected demand for Elmo, as the resulting shortages in the stores that sold it happened nearly two months later.[7]
The scarcity of the new toy provoked a "shopping frenzy".[8] Two women were arrested in Chicago for fighting over the doll,[4] while in New York City some people ran after delivery trucks hoping to get their hands on Elmo before it reached stores.[9] Someone allegedly purchased a Tickle Me Elmo for $7,100 in Denver.[8] KBIG in Los Angeles had a radio auction for charity December 20, 1996; Bob's Pharmacy won and purchased a Tickle-Me-Elmo For $18,500. A clerk working at a Wal-Mart store in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada was among those injured by "Elmo-mania". During a Midnight Madness sale on December 14, a crowd of 300 stampeded down the aisle after spotting him being handed a box of the toys by another employee. Trampled, he suffered "a pulled hamstring, injuries to his back, jaw and knee, a broken rib and a concussion".[1]
By the end of December, the entire stock of one million "Tickle Me Elmo" toys had been sold.[10][11]
Other Tickle Me toys
In early 1997, Tyco released new "Tickle Me" toys based on other characters from Sesame Street – first Tickle Me Ernie and Tickle Me Big Bird, then Tickle Me Cookie Monster – but despite good sales, none of these toys achieved as much fame as Tickle Me Elmo.[6] With the re-release of Tickle Me Elmo, Mini Tickle Me Cookie Monster and Mini Tickle Me Ernie were also put on the market.[citation needed]
The "Surprise Edition" of Tickle Me Elmo, issued fall 2001, was an elaborate contest. Five of the "Surprise Edition" Elmos stopped laughing on January 9, 2002, and instead announced to the people squeezing them that they had won a prize. The grand prize was US$200,000.[12]
