Tickle Me Elmo: Difference between revisions

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			{{short description\|Muppet character children's plush toy}}
	{{Cleanup-spam}}
			{{Use American English\|date=June 2023}}
			{{Use mdy dates\|date=August 2022}}
			{{Infobox Toy
			\|name=Tickle Me Elmo
			\|image=]
			\|type=Toddler/kid toy
			\|inventor=Tyco Preschool
			\|country= US, Canada, UK
			\|company=]
			\|from=July 1996
			\|materials=
			\|website=
			\|slogan=
			}}
			'''Tickle Me Elmo''' is a children's ] from Tyco Preschool, a division of ], of the ] character ] from the children's television show '']''. When squeezed, Elmo recites his trademark giggle. When squeezed three times, Elmo shakes and vibrates.

			The toy was first produced in the United States in 1996 and slowly became a ], reaching its apex during the 1996 Christmas shopping season, with some instances of violence reported over the limited available supply. '']'' reported that the toy, which retailed for $28.99 according to its ], was being re-sold by scalpers in newspapers and on the Internet for up to $1,500 by the end of 1996.<ref name="People"/>
	{{Cleanup\|September 2006}}

			== Development ==
	]
			]
			"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.<ref name="chimp">{{cite news \| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/12/10/toy-creator-unwraps-story-of-success/ \| title=Toy Creator Unwraps Story Of Success \| newspaper=Chicago Tribune \| date=December 10, 1996 \| access-date=July 30, 2014 \| author=Black, Lisa}}</ref>

			The story starts in 1993, when Greg & Ron working with developer Daniel Winsor, created a demo app for a "Tickles" application. The original demo code was written in C++ and running on a small x86 processor. This was then connected to the chimp via a small cable providing power and audio. Input from the chimp was then routed back to the processor and tickle sounds would play.
	'''Tickle Me Elmo''' is a child's toy from ], introduced in the ] in ], becoming that year's top ]. Bright red in color and based on ], a ] character from '']'', when squeezed, Elmo would chortle. When squeezed three times in a row, Elmo would begin to shake and laugh hysterically. On its back is a velcro access slit, inside which the batteries are located.

			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 '']'' plush rights. The toy was worked on for several months as Tickle Me ], successfully selling it at the WB Studio Store in California. A short time later, Tyco lost the rights to use the ''Looney Tunes'' property in their products, but gained the rights to ''Sesame Street,'' thus leading to the creation of Tickle Me Elmo. The invention was originally introduced under ] at ] Industries.{{citation needed\|date=June 2014}}
	There was a small controversy after the release of the doll with parents groups that misheard one of Elmo's phrases. His "Hug Elmo" phrase was misunderstood by many as "Fuck Elmo". The voicing was revised so that the phrase sounded clearer and unmistakable.

			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."<ref>{{cite news\|last=Greenwood\|first=Chelsea\|year=2009\|title=Child's Play: Mattel's Neil Friedman Has Built a Career out of Toying Around—And Making Kids horny\|url=\|journal=]}}</ref>
	In 1996, the Tickle Me Elmo was the "Must Have" toy. Many parents literally fought other parents in North American toy stores to purchase one of the toys for Christmas. The short supply of the toy, due to unexpected demand, meant that stores hiked the price on the dolls drastically. Newspaper ] even sold the plush toy for hundreds of ]. ] reports that the $28.99USD toy fetched as much as $1500.<ref>{{cite news \| last=Gliatto \| first=Tom \| title=Elmo Saves Christmas \| date=December 23, 1996 \| publisher=People \| url=http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rch&an=9612201526}}, accessed in EBSCOhost.</ref>

			==1996 phenomenon==
	A clerk at the ] in ] was among those injured by "Elmo-mania". A crowd of 300 stampeded into the store on 14 December 1996; spotting him with one of the remaining toys, he "was pulled under, trampled—the crotch was yanked out of brand-new jeans." According to '']'', the clerk "suffered a pulled hamstring, injuries to his back, jaw and knee, a broken rib and a concussion."<ref>{{cite news \| last=Gliatto \| first=Tom \| title=Elmo Saves Christmas \| date=23 December 1996 \| publisher=People \| url=http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rch&an=9612201526}}, accessed in EBSCOhost.</ref>
			Tickle Me Elmo was released in July 1996, with a supply of 400,000 units.<!---<ref name="desperate"/>---> The dolls sold well and remained widely available in stores until the ], when they suddenly sold out.<!---<ref name="desperate"/>---> With the ] approaching, Tyco Preschool ordered 600,000 more dolls from their suppliers.<ref name="desperate">{{cite news\|last=Baca\|first=Maria Elena\|date=December 10, 1996\|title=Desperate shoppers not laughing at Tickle Me Elmo\|newspaper=Star Tribune\|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62644967.html\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714113343/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62644967.html\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref> Promotion was helped by ], who had shown the toy on ] in early October.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Cummins\|first=H. J.\|date=August 4, 1997\|title=Toy-craze sanity; First came Tickle Me Elmo. Then Beanie Babies and Tamagotchis. When kids go crazy over all these new toys, what's a parent to do?\|newspaper=]\|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62614085.html\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224312/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62614085.html\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref><ref name="hot toy">{{cite news\|last1=Reidy\|first1=Chris\|author2=Patricia Resende \|date=November 13, 1997\|title=Tyco's Sing & Snore Ernie Looks Like It's The Hot Toy This Christmas\|newspaper=] Business Review\|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19983095.html\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924150800/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19983095.html\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=September 24, 2015}}; originally from the '']'' "Elmo got his big break in early October of last year with an on-air plug from talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell."</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Fisher\|first=Eric\|date=November 16, 1998\|title=Tickle-Down Economics\|newspaper=]\|url=https://www.questia.com//read/1G1-55710722/tickle-down-economics\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806225310/https://www.questia.com//read/1G1-55710722/tickle-down-economics\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=August 6, 2020}}</ref>

			The scarcity of the new toy provoked a "shopping frenzy".<ref name="frenzy"/> Two women were arrested in Chicago for fighting over the doll,<ref name="desperate"/> while in New York City some people ran after delivery trucks hoping to get their hands on Elmo before it reached stores.<ref>{{cite magazine\|last=Riddell\|first=Mary\|date=December 20, 1996\|title=Spend! Spend! Spend! Ten Years Ago Shopping Was, Quite Simply, the Thing to Do: But Now It Has Been Restyled – as a Vice, a Sin, an Addiction\|magazine=]\|url=}} "In New York demented mothers chase lorries of toys in the hope of tracking down this year's must-have plaything: a furry 'Tickle Me, Elmo'".</ref> Someone allegedly purchased a Tickle Me Elmo for $7,100 in ].<ref name="frenzy">{{citation\|first=Harry\|last=Mills\|title=Artful Persuasion: How to Command Attention, Change Minds, and Influence People\|location=New York\|publisher=AMACOM\|page=253\|url=\|year=2000\|isbn=0-8144-7063-7}}</ref> ] 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 ] store in ], 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".<ref name=People>{{cite news\|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20143226,00.html\|title=Just Tickled\|newspaper=]\|volume=47\|issue=1\|date=January 13, 1997\|access-date=June 11, 2014}}</ref>
	The vibrating laughter produced by the Tickle Me Elmo uses the same motorized device found in many ] and used for ].<ref></ref>

			By the end of December, the entire stock of one million "Tickle Me Elmo" toys had been sold.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Constable\|first=Burt\|date=December 11, 1997\|title=The Aftermath of a Craze: Tickle Me Elmo Revisited\|journal=] \|url=}}"The company sold its entire supply of 1 million TMEs last year".
	==Further Tickle Me toys==
			</ref><ref>{{cite news\|last=Szaroleta\|first=Tom\|title=Tickle Me T-U, Tell Me More about Elmo\|url=\|newspaper=]\|date=September 16, 2011}} ": Tickle Me Elmo becomes the hottest toy of the holiday season. More than a million are sold that year alone."</ref>
	By February 1997, Tickle Me Ernie and Tickle Me Big Bird toys were released, followed by Tickle Me Cookie Monster in May.<ref>{{cite news \| last=Baldwin \| first=Kristen \| title=Keeping the Clouds Away \| date=14 February 1997 \| publisher=Entertainment Weekly \| url=http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rch&an=9702212770}}, accessed in EBSCOhost.</ref> None of these toys achieved nearly as much fame, or sales.

			==Other "Tickle Me" products==
	The "Surprise Edition" of Tickle Me Elmo, issued in the Fall of 2001, was an elaborate contest. Five of the "Surprise Edition" Elmos stopped laughing on 9 January 2002, and instead announced to the people squeezing them that they had won a prize. The grand prize was $200,000USD.{{fact}}
			In early 1997, Tyco released new "Tickle Me" toys based on other characters from '']'' – 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.<ref name="hot toy"/> 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\|date=June 2014}}

			The Tickle Me Elmo Surprise, released fall 2001, was an elaborate contest. In its normal play mode, the player would have to find which spot on Elmo's body would make him laugh, using clues like "Elmo isn't ticklish there" and "Elmo's just a little ticklish there". These versions of the dolls came with an inbuilt real-time clock and would stop its normal play mode on January 9, 2002. Five of the dolls were programmed to deliver a message on this date that the owner had won a prize. The grand prize was US$200,000, but other prizes included cars, computers, ], other Fisher-Price products and more.<ref name=wired-comp>{{cite news\|last=Dean\|first=Katie \|date=October 11, 2001 \|title=Elmo's Worth More Than a Tickle \|newspaper=] \|access-date=May 2, 2020 \|url=https://www.wired.com/2001/10/elmos-worth-more-than-a-tickle/}}</ref> If you weren't a winner, instead of the doll announcing the prize on January 9th, it would instead ask you to squeeze Elmo's nose, which in turn would play a song.
	===TMX===
	The new Elmo doll, announced at the American Toy Fair 2006, is called TMX (meaning Tickle Me (Elmo) Ten or Tickle Me Extreme). The full look of the doll was not revealed until it debuted live on ABC's Good Morning America and arrived on store shelves on September 19, 2006. Even the box it comes in is designed so that the doll can not be seen without purchasing it. A preview flap is included, but upon opening, you see Elmo's eyes. He says "Ah, ah, ah, ah! No peeking!" and giggles. It requires six AA batteries (which are included), and costs approximately $40USD. Toy experts say that the delay is unprecedented, with only a few people in the media allowed to preview the product, all signing confidentiality agreements. In a promotional clip, Jim Silver, co-publisher of '']'' magazine says "The first reaction I had was, 'Where are the wires?' Because I didn't think anything like that could move on its own."<ref>{{cite news \| last=Barker \| first=Olivia \| title=Meet 'Top Secret Elmo' \| date=1 February 2006 \| publisher=USA Today \| url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/2006-02-01-tickle-me-elmo_x.htm}}</ref>

			===TMX (2006-2007)===
	Toy analyst Chris Byrne told '']'', "This is a quantum leap forward, another breakthrough in the preschool plush category." Byrne believes sales will be high, but the reaction won't be as unprecedented. "The culture has moved beyond that, the whole hot-toy phenomenon." He cites the fact there hasn't been such a craze since ] in 1998.<ref>{{cite news \| last=Barker \| first=Olivia \| title=Meet 'Top Secret Elmo' \| date=1 February 2006 \| publisher=USA Today \| url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/2006-02-01-tickle-me-elmo_x.htm}}</ref> However, some members of the media are expecting a large response.<ref>{{cite news \| title=Newsmakers \| date=13 February 2006 \| publisher=Maclean's \| url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/2006-02-01-tickle-me-elmo_x.htm}}</ref>
			For the tenth anniversary of Tickle Me Elmo, ] released a new Elmo doll in 2006 called ''TMX'', meaning "Tickle Me (Elmo) Ten" or "Tickle Me Xtreme". The toy, which was designed by Bruce Lund of Lund and Co. Invention (]),<ref>{{cite news\|last=Jedlowski\|first=Jill\|date=January 17, 2007\|title=Toy Story: TMX Elmo Creator Talks Business\|newspaper=]\|url=}}</ref> was first announced at the ]. Rather than simply vibrating like the original, the TMX rolls around on the floor, laughing and smashing his fist on the ground, begging for the tickler to stop.<ref> (on Youtube).</ref>

			The full look of the doll was not revealed until it debuted live on ]'s '']'' and arrived on store shelves on September 19, 2006. Toy experts said that the delay was unprecedented, with only a few people in the media allowed to preview the product, and only after signing ]s. The packaging was designed so that the doll could not be seen without purchasing it. The box includes a preview flap, but upon opening, only the doll's eyes are visible. It requires six AA batteries and costs approximately $40. In a promotional clip, Jim Silver, co-publisher of ''Toy Wishes'' magazine said, "The first reaction I had was, 'Where are the wires?' Because I didn't think anything like that could move on its own.".<ref name="top secret">{{cite news\|last=Barker\|first=Olivia\|date=February 1, 2006\|title=Meet 'Top Secret Elmo'\|newspaper=]\|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/2006-02-01-tickle-me-elmo_x.htm}}</ref>
	The new doll rolls around on the floor laughing and smashing his fist on the ground, begging to stop.

			<!--Image:Tmx-elmo.jpg\|TMX Elmo-->
	A video of what the new Tickle Me Elmo can do can be found .
			Toy analyst Chris Byrne told '']'', "This is a quantum leap forward, another breakthrough in the preschool plush category." Byrne believed sales would be high, but the reaction would not be as unprecedented. "The culture has moved beyond that, the whole hot-toy phenomenon." He cited the fact there has not been such a craze since ] in 1998.<ref name="top secret"/> However, some members of the media expected a large response.{{citation needed\|date=June 2014}} ] stores and ] had a pre-sale program for the doll, the first included elaborate in-store displays with a digital countdown to the doll's launch. Amazon took more presale orders than it could fulfill.<ref>{{cite news\|last=Kotecki Vest\|first=Erin\|date=September 22, 2006\|title=Elmo Suckers Me to the Dark Side\|newspaper=]\|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Erin-Kotecki-vest/elmo-suckers-me-to-the-da_b_30043.html}}</ref> As with the original Tickle Me Elmo doll, demand for the new toy gave rise to some extreme acts. One person in ], Florida was allegedly threatened with a gun to hand over a TMX toy. This was parodied on '']'', which said the man "was subdued by the new 'Gimmie a Reason ]'".<ref>{{cite news\|title=Tickle pickle: Your Elmo or your life! \|date=September 25, 2006 \|newspaper=New York Daily News \|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2006/09/25/2006-09-25_tickle_pickle_your_elmo_or_your_life.html \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930061727/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2006/09/25/2006-09-25_tickle_pickle_your_elmo_or_your_life.html \|archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}</ref>

			TMX and other toys helped Mattel's earnings for the third quarter of the 2006 ] to grow by six percent and beat the expectations of ]s.<ref>{{cite news\|date=October 16, 2006\|title=Mattel Posts 6 Percent Rise in Profit\|newspaper=AP Online\|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1Y1-99173190.html\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714131759/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1Y1-99173190.html\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news\|date=October 17, 2006\|title=Mattel Tops Expectations\|newspaper=]\|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-152989624.html\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224316/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-152989624.html\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=July 14, 2014}}</ref>
	] stores and ] had a pre-sale program for the doll, the first included elaborate in-store displays with a digital countdown to the doll's launch. Amazon took more presale orders than it could fulfill.<ref>{{cite web \| url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-kotecki-vest/elmo-suckers-me-to-the-da_b_30043.html \| title = Elmo Suckers Me to the Dark Side \| accessdate = 2006-10-25 \| accessmonthday = September 25 \| accessyear = 2006 \| author = Erin Kotecki Vest \| last = Kotecki Vest \| first = Erin \| authorlink = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/contributors/bio.php?nick=erin-kotecki-vest&name=Erin%20Kotecki%20Vest \| date = 2006-10-25 \| year = 2006 \| month = September \| work = The Huffington Post \| publisher = HuffingtonPost.com LLC \| language = English }}</ref>

			In January 2007, Mattel announced it would release ''TMX Friends'', featuring Elmo, ] and ].<ref>{{cite news\|last=Kavilanz\|first=Parija B.\|date=January 29, 2007\|title=Following T.M.X. Elmo, here come his friends\|publisher=CNNMoney.com\|url=https://money.cnn.com/2007/01/29/news/companies/mattel_elmo/}}</ref>
	As with the original Ticke Me Elmo doll, demand for the new toy has given rise to extreme acts by some people. One person in ] was allegedly threatened with a gun to hand over a TMX toy.<ref>{{cite news \| title=Tickle pickle: Your Elmo or your life! \| date=25 September 2006 \| publisher=New York Daily News \| url=http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/455631p-383316c.html}}</ref>

			===LOL Elmo (2012)===
	Though the doll has a recommended retail price of $39.99 USD like the macbook pro, the average price on the auction-based website ] has risen to roughly twice that amount, with one auction going as high as $1000.<ref>{{cite news \| http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150036892307&category=95267 \| title = Tickle Me ELMO TMX 10th Anniversary TOP SECRET NIB NEW! \| date=25 September 2006 \| publisher=] \| url=http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150036892307&category=95267 }}</ref>
			] released the toy again as ''LOL Elmo''. Not a single image of the toy was revealed until the American International Toy Fair 2012; in the Hasbro showroom's ] section, there is a sign printed "Laughter Unleashed! Fall 2012". Above it was a video of kids giggling. The toy was released in September. It is also known as Tickle Time Elmo.{{citation needed\|date=June 2014}} Unlike traditional Tickle Me Elmo dolls, this one features a capacitive sensor on its tummy instead of a button, allowing the player to literally tickle the doll.

	==== ~~Warning~~ ~~vs.~~ ~~Top Secret =~~===		===Tickle Me Elmo (2017)===
			] made a new version of this toy once again but they made it part of their Playskool Friends lineup. Its behavior is like the 1996 version but has more phrases like "Elmo is one ticklish monster". This version released in August 2017. It could be found at ], ], ], ] and ], among others.
	There are two versions of the TMX doll, one which has the Warning sticker on front (which most people are touting as more rare), and then there is the Top Secret edition. Both appear to be indentical except for the variation in the text on the front, and Elmo apparently says different things when opening the flap.

	==Tickle Me Elmo ~~in popular culture~~==		===Tickle Me Elmo (2024)===
			Just Play made a new version of this toy once again as part of the Sesame Street toy Range. Its behavior is like the 1996 Tyco version but shakes more and has more ticklish parts. This version was released in April 2024. It could be found online at ].
	While Elmo has been referenced or seen in three episodes of '']'', the doll version of the character made an appearance in "]". Elmo slaps ] in the episode, after Moe tries to fondle him, yelling "No means no to Elmo!" Another episode features a "Tickle Me Krusty" doll which chuckles and angrily shouts, "Hey kid! Get your finger outta there!"

			== Legacy ==
	Tickle Me Elmo was the subject of an art exposition at the ], in ], in September of 2003. ], the artist, engineered a vibrating coat out of dissected Tickle Me Elmo dolls. The title of the show was ''Live Pelt''.
			Tickle Me Elmo helped ] recover from its financial problems that it had been dealing with since the 1980s, and also helped in boosting the popularity of ''Sesame Street'', which had been facing stiff competition from other children's shows throughout the 1990s. Likely as a response to this craze, the show began pushing Elmo to a starring role more heavily, a practice that is still done on the show today. This most noticeably resulted in the show dedicating the last few minutes of every episode to the character, beginning in 1998 with '']'', with three other Elmo-centric segments debuting on the show since then.
			===Non Tickle-Me Elmo Toys===
			* 1998: "Walk 'n' Talk" (with ] and ])
			* 1999: "Rock 'n' Roll" (with ])
			* 2000: "Let's Pretend Elmo"
			* 2002: "] Elmo"
			* 2003: "] Elmo"
			* 2004: "]"
			* 2005: "] Elmo"
			* 2008: "]!"
			* 2009: "Elmo Live!: ENCORE", "Elmo's Tickle Hands"
			* 2011: "Let's Rock Elmo"
			* 2013: "Big Hugs Elmo"
			* 2014: "Let's Imagine Elmo"
			* 2015: "Play All Day Elmo"
			* 2016: "Love2Learn Elmo"
			* 2018: "Let's Dance Elmo"
			* 2019: "Love to Hug Elmo"
			* 2020: "Rock & Rhyme Elmo"

			==See also==
	Tickle Me Elmo has also appeared in ]. In the first cartoon, we find out ] beat the stuffing out of it, causing $40 worth of damage. Bucky explains, "It was laughin at me!"
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			{{Portal bar\|Toys\|1990s}}

			==References==
	An episode of '']'' parodied the concept, as well as the fact that the ] was named after ], with a sketch revolving around a doll in the likeness of ], called "Squeeze Me Nixon".
			{{reflist}}

			==External links==
	The movie ] is similar to the 1996 Tickle Me Elmo craze in that the main character, Howard Langston (played by ]), has to get a Turboman doll for his son on Christmas Eve, but finds out they are sold out and goes to great lengths to get one.
			<!-- ATTENTION!! Please do not add links without discussion and consensus on the talk page. Undiscussed links will be removed. -->

			* on the Surprise Edition
	A sketch from the Canadian satire show ] portrayed a man walking into a store to return a defective ] Snacktime Kids doll. Parodying the problem of the dolls, the man had the doll literally attached to his head after "snacking" on his hair (which was the problem the mechanical dolls had). After some dialogue the man asks how they can possibly repay him for all the suffering and humilitation he went through. The clerk then pulls out a Tickle-Me Elmo and offers it, to which the man excited accepts.
			<!--* , an online simulation of the toy-->

			* {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025035541/http://cbs13.com/video/?id=11875 \|date=October 25, 2007 }}, video demonstration of the new Tickle Me Elmo
	==References==
			<!-- ATTENTION!!! Please do not add links without discussion and consensus on the talk page. Undiscussed links will be removed. -->
	<references />

			{{Sesame Street}}
	==External links==
	* on the Surprise Edition
	* , an online simulation of the toy
	* Ultimate Sesame Street Plush Doll Collectors Resource
	* Online Demand Tracker for TMX
	* Video demostration of the new Tickle Me Elmo
	* Fully detailed review of the new T.M.X. Elmo, with lots of picture and videos
	* Lots of Images, Videos and Stories.
	*

	]
	]		]
	]		]
			]
			]
			]
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			]
			]

Latest revision as of 10:30, 28 November 2024

Muppet character children's plush toy

Tickle Me Elmo

Type	Toddler/kid toy
Inventor(s)	Tyco Preschool
Company	Tyco Toys
Country	US, Canada, UK
Availability	July 1996–present

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 recites his trademark giggle. When squeezed three times, Elmo shakes and vibrates.

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.

Development

"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.

The story starts in 1993, when Greg & Ron working with developer Daniel Winsor, created a demo app for a "Tickles" application. The original demo code was written in C++ and running on a small x86 processor. This was then connected to the chimp via a small cable providing power and audio. Input from the chimp was then routed back to the processor and tickle sounds would play.

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. The toy was worked on for several months as Tickle Me Tasmanian Devil, successfully selling it at the WB Studio Store in California. A short time later, Tyco lost the rights to use the Looney Tunes property in their products, but gained the rights to Sesame Street, thus leading to the creation of Tickle Me Elmo. The invention was originally introduced under Cabbage Patch at Hasbro Industries.

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."

1996 phenomenon

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. Promotion was helped by Rosie O'Donnell, who had shown the toy on her popular TV show in early October. 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.

The scarcity of the new toy provoked a "shopping frenzy". Two women were arrested in Chicago for fighting over the doll, while in New York City some people ran after delivery trucks hoping to get their hands on Elmo before it reached stores. Someone allegedly purchased a Tickle Me Elmo for $7,100 in Denver. 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".

By the end of December, the entire stock of one million "Tickle Me Elmo" toys had been sold.

Other "Tickle Me" products

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. With the re-release of Tickle Me Elmo, Mini Tickle Me Cookie Monster and Mini Tickle Me Ernie were also put on the market.

The Tickle Me Elmo Surprise, released fall 2001, was an elaborate contest. In its normal play mode, the player would have to find which spot on Elmo's body would make him laugh, using clues like "Elmo isn't ticklish there" and "Elmo's just a little ticklish there". These versions of the dolls came with an inbuilt real-time clock and would stop its normal play mode on January 9, 2002. Five of the dolls were programmed to deliver a message on this date that the owner had won a prize. The grand prize was US$200,000, but other prizes included cars, computers, Power Wheels, other Fisher-Price products and more. If you weren't a winner, instead of the doll announcing the prize on January 9th, it would instead ask you to squeeze Elmo's nose, which in turn would play a song.

TMX (2006-2007)

For the tenth anniversary of Tickle Me Elmo, Fisher-Price released a new Elmo doll in 2006 called TMX, meaning "Tickle Me (Elmo) Ten" or "Tickle Me Xtreme". The toy, which was designed by Bruce Lund of Lund and Co. Invention (River Forest, Illinois), was first announced at the American International Toy Fair. Rather than simply vibrating like the original, the TMX rolls around on the floor, laughing and smashing his fist on the ground, begging for the tickler to stop.

The full look of the doll was not revealed until it debuted live on ABC's Good Morning America and arrived on store shelves on September 19, 2006. Toy experts said that the delay was unprecedented, with only a few people in the media allowed to preview the product, and only after signing confidentiality agreements. The packaging was designed so that the doll could not be seen without purchasing it. The box includes a preview flap, but upon opening, only the doll's eyes are visible. It requires six AA batteries and costs approximately $40. In a promotional clip, Jim Silver, co-publisher of Toy Wishes magazine said, "The first reaction I had was, 'Where are the wires?' Because I didn't think anything like that could move on its own.".

Toy analyst Chris Byrne told USA Today, "This is a quantum leap forward, another breakthrough in the preschool plush category." Byrne believed sales would be high, but the reaction would not be as unprecedented. "The culture has moved beyond that, the whole hot-toy phenomenon." He cited the fact there has not been such a craze since Furby in 1998. However, some members of the media expected a large response. Toys "R" Us stores and Amazon had a pre-sale program for the doll, the first included elaborate in-store displays with a digital countdown to the doll's launch. Amazon took more presale orders than it could fulfill. As with the original Tickle Me Elmo doll, demand for the new toy gave rise to some extreme acts. One person in Tampa, Florida was allegedly threatened with a gun to hand over a TMX toy. This was parodied on Saturday Night Live, which said the man "was subdued by the new 'Gimmie a Reason Bert'".

TMX and other toys helped Mattel's earnings for the third quarter of the 2006 financial year to grow by six percent and beat the expectations of financial analysts.

In January 2007, Mattel announced it would release TMX Friends, featuring Elmo, Ernie and Cookie Monster.

LOL Elmo (2012)

Playskool released the toy again as LOL Elmo. Not a single image of the toy was revealed until the American International Toy Fair 2012; in the Hasbro showroom's Sesame Street section, there is a sign printed "Laughter Unleashed! Fall 2012". Above it was a video of kids giggling. The toy was released in September. It is also known as Tickle Time Elmo. Unlike traditional Tickle Me Elmo dolls, this one features a capacitive sensor on its tummy instead of a button, allowing the player to literally tickle the doll.

Tickle Me Elmo (2017)

Playskool made a new version of this toy once again but they made it part of their Playskool Friends lineup. Its behavior is like the 1996 version but has more phrases like "Elmo is one ticklish monster". This version released in August 2017. It could be found at Walmart, Books-A-Million, Best Buy, Target and Toys-R-Us, among others.

Tickle Me Elmo (2024)

Just Play made a new version of this toy once again as part of the Sesame Street toy Range. Its behavior is like the 1996 Tyco version but shakes more and has more ticklish parts. This version was released in April 2024. It could be found online at Amazon.

Legacy

Tickle Me Elmo helped the Children's Television Workshop recover from its financial problems that it had been dealing with since the 1980s, and also helped in boosting the popularity of Sesame Street, which had been facing stiff competition from other children's shows throughout the 1990s. Likely as a response to this craze, the show began pushing Elmo to a starring role more heavily, a practice that is still done on the show today. This most noticeably resulted in the show dedicating the last few minutes of every episode to the character, beginning in 1998 with Elmo's World, with three other Elmo-centric segments debuting on the show since then.

Non Tickle-Me Elmo Toys

1998: "Walk 'n' Talk" (with Big Bird and Cookie Monster)
1999: "Rock 'n' Roll" (with Ernie)
2000: "Let's Pretend Elmo"
2002: "Chicken Dance Elmo"
2003: "Hokey Pokey Elmo"
2004: "E.L.M.O"
2005: "Shout Elmo"
2008: "Elmo Live!"
2009: "Elmo Live!: ENCORE", "Elmo's Tickle Hands"
2011: "Let's Rock Elmo"
2013: "Big Hugs Elmo"
2014: "Let's Imagine Elmo"
2015: "Play All Day Elmo"
2016: "Love2Learn Elmo"
2018: "Let's Dance Elmo"
2019: "Love to Hug Elmo"
2020: "Rock & Rhyme Elmo"

References

^ "Just Tickled". People. Vol. 47, no. 1. January 13, 1997. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
Black, Lisa (December 10, 1996). "Toy Creator Unwraps Story Of Success". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
Greenwood, Chelsea (2009). "Child's Play: Mattel's Neil Friedman Has Built a Career out of Toying Around—And Making Kids horny". Success.
^ Baca, Maria Elena (December 10, 1996). "Desperate shoppers not laughing at Tickle Me Elmo". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
Cummins, H. J. (August 4, 1997). "Toy-craze sanity; First came Tickle Me Elmo. Then Beanie Babies and Tamagotchis. When kids go crazy over all these new toys, what's a parent to do?". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
^ Reidy, Chris; Patricia Resende (November 13, 1997). "Tyco's Sing & Snore Ernie Looks Like It's The Hot Toy This Christmas". Knight Ridder Tribune Business Review. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.; originally from the Boston Globe "Elmo got his big break in early October of last year with an on-air plug from talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell."
Fisher, Eric (November 16, 1998). "Tickle-Down Economics". Insight on the News. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020.
^ Mills, Harry (2000), Artful Persuasion: How to Command Attention, Change Minds, and Influence People, New York: AMACOM, p. 253, ISBN 0-8144-7063-7
Riddell, Mary (December 20, 1996). "Spend! Spend! Spend! Ten Years Ago Shopping Was, Quite Simply, the Thing to Do: But Now It Has Been Restyled – as a Vice, a Sin, an Addiction". New Statesman. "In New York demented mothers chase lorries of toys in the hope of tracking down this year's must-have plaything: a furry 'Tickle Me, Elmo'".
Constable, Burt (December 11, 1997). "The Aftermath of a Craze: Tickle Me Elmo Revisited". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)."The company sold its entire supply of 1 million TMEs last year".
Szaroleta, Tom (September 16, 2011). "Tickle Me T-U, Tell Me More about Elmo". The Florida Times Union. ": Tickle Me Elmo becomes the hottest toy of the holiday season. More than a million are sold that year alone."
Dean, Katie (October 11, 2001). "Elmo's Worth More Than a Tickle". Wired. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
Jedlowski, Jill (January 17, 2007). "Toy Story: TMX Elmo Creator Talks Business". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights).
"Tickle Me Elmo X TMX Elmo" (on Youtube).
^ Barker, Olivia (February 1, 2006). "Meet 'Top Secret Elmo'". USA Today.
Kotecki Vest, Erin (September 22, 2006). "Elmo Suckers Me to the Dark Side". The Huffington Post.
"Tickle pickle: Your Elmo or your life!". New York Daily News. September 25, 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
"Mattel Posts 6 Percent Rise in Profit". AP Online. October 16, 2006. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
"Mattel Tops Expectations". Cincinnati Post. October 17, 2006. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
Kavilanz, Parija B. (January 29, 2007). "Following T.M.X. Elmo, here come his friends". CNNMoney.com.