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Fisher-Price Tickle Me Elmo – 19 Fun Facts About The Elmo Phenomenon

Who would have imagined in 1996 that Tickle Me Elmo, a newly released plush toy, would become the new sales sensation that Christmas? It was “just” a funny little lump of red fur that giggled hysterically when you tickled it. And yet, since then Tickle Me Elmo and its successors have topped the sales charts for several Christmas seasons.

This year promises to be another big selling year for the Elmo line of plush toys with the introduction of Elmo Live! by Fisher Price. Some stores are currently limiting the amount you can buy in anticipation of hot sales numbers. Here are 19 fun facts about the sales sensation started by the laughing little red man.

1. Tyco introduced Tickle Me Elmo to the US markets in 1996. By Christmas, Elmo had become a sales phenomenon.

2. Elmo experienced an increase in sales after Rosie O’Donnell featured the doll on an episode of her show in October 1996. Every time a guest said the word “wall,” Rosie would throw a doll at the audience.

3. That same year there was a similar jump in sales after Bryant Gumbel held a doll for most of an episode of the Today Show.

4. The day after Thanksgiving 1996, Tickle Me Elmo sold out in 2 hours at most stores nationwide.

5. Tyco originally expected to sell 400,000 Elmos that first year. They easily sold that amount and couldn’t keep up with demand over Christmas even though they urgently continued to make the doll.

6. A shortage of supplies led some parents in North America to go to extreme measures. In reality, the parents fought each other in stores over the doll.

7. Prices skyrocketed with classified ads in some newspapers advertising the toy for hundreds of dollars. One report claims that the $ 28.99 toy sold for up to $ 1,500.

8. Various injury stories were reported across the country. For example, on December 14, 1996 at a Wal-mart in Fredericton, New Brunswick, a crowd injured an employee when they saw him holding one of the last dolls in stock.

9. The New York Daily News reported an unusual story. John Gotti, Jr., son of the alleged mob boss, bought a box of Tickle Me Elmos from a store in Queens, New York, several weeks after the doll sold out. Store officials said Gotti “was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.”

10. Elmo’s vibration feature uses a larger version of the vibration motor found in cell phones and game controllers.

11. Three new Tickle Me dolls were released in 1997: Tickle Me Ernie, Tickle Me Big Bird and Tickle Me Cookie Monster. None of them have equaled Elmo’s mysterious success.

12. In 2001, a “surprise edition” of Tickle Me Elmo was released as part of a contest. On January 9, 2002, five of the dolls stopped laughing. They then announced to their owners that the owners had won a prize, the largest being a staggering $ 200,000.

13. The TMX, which stands for Tickle Me Extreme or Tickle Me Ten (where “X” is the Roman numeral 10), was launched as part of the tenth anniversary commemoration of the first doll. TMX Elmo expanded Elmo’s laughing behaviors to include rolling on the ground and hitting the ground with his fist.

14. In a well-executed marketing promotion, the manufacturer generated buzz for TMX by hiding TMX Elmo prior to its launch. People who reviewed the product prior to its launch were required to sign confidentiality agreements that prevented them from revealing details about the doll ahead of time.

15. TMX Elmo marketing promotion included pre-launch sales of the doll. Amazon took more pre-order orders than it could fulfill.

16. The complete look of the TMX doll was first revealed on ABC’s Good Morning America.

17. The TMX Elmo box hid the doll until you bought it. A “preview flap” on the box only lets you see Elmo’s eyes, and he said, “Ah, ah, ah, ah! Don’t peek!”

18. A 2007 version of the doll featured hidden messages that Elmo would only say if you did the right thing to the doll. The rhyming tracks on the manufacturer’s website helped consumers figure out how to trigger the special messages.

19. The 2008 version of the doll is called Elmo Live! It features a completely new set of actions and sounds, making it the most advanced version of the popular Elmo dolls. Sales of Elmo Live! it is expected to be vigorous for the 2008 holiday season. With the financial difficulties we are having this year it will be interesting to see how well Elmo lives! sell

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