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Tickle-me-Elmo doll craze
Broadcast Date: Dec. 18, 1996
It's the Cabbage Patch Kid mania revisited. This time, parents are seeking the Tickle-Me-Elmo stuffed animal and they're going to unprecedented lengths to get their hands on one. Parents are charging toy stores, searching the classified ads and paying enormous sums of money for the furry red Sesame Street character that giggles and shakes when his belly is rubbed. This CBC Television report examines the public's fascination with the jolly little toy.Tickle-me-Elmo doll craze
• On Dec. 14, 1996, an employee at a Wal-mart in Fredericton was trampled and sent to hospital while setting up a Tickle-Me-Elmo display. He was treated for extensive bruising and then released.
• As the Tickle-Me-Elmo frenzy hit North America, parents overseas were frantic for Toy Story merchandise. British parents searched high and low for Buzz Lightyear, the plastic robot featured in the Pixar movie.
• Following the success of Tickle-Me-Elmo, Tyco released Rock 'N Roll Elmo, Country Elmo, Baby Tickle Me Cookie Monster and Baby Tickle-Me-Big-Bird.
Tickle-me-Elmo doll craze
Medium: Television
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: Dec. 18, 1996
Guest(s): Brenda Bickram, Nancy Green, George Irwin, Robert Waller
Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Jeffrey Kofman
Duration: 2:35
Last updated:
Aug. 19, 2009
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Tickle-me-Elmo doll craze.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Aug. 19, 2009.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]