"Teletubbies" is billed as the first children's show
designed for the very young. If you can't talk,
walk, or even sit up straight, it's the show for
you, they say. It's also something of a first in children's marketing. Unlike
"Sesame Street" and "Barney," where the tremendous television popularity
came first and the merchandising tie-ins followed, Teletubbies dolls will be
hitting the store shelves about the time the television show debuts in this
country.
The "Teletubbies" show has been a hit in England for the past year, making
millions for the BBC. It caused near-riots in London toy stores at Christmas,
as desperate parents and older fans fought over Teletubbies dolls and paid as
much as $1,300 for black-market Tinky Winky dolls. Britain's teenage
clubbers also adopted the show, turning it on in the mornings to relax after a
hard night out. And the London tabloids have elevated the actors inside the
Teletubbies costumes to celebrity status, "outing" the human beings who play
Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa, and Po.
Now, American retailers and toy manufacturers are betting that the
Teletubbies will be bigger than Barney by Christmas, and that every child
under 3 will be clamoring for one (or all) of the Teletubbies dolls.
If they're wrong, there will be a lot of Teletubbies products at the flea markets
and off-price stores next year. But they believe the Teletubbies are a safe bet,
for several reasons.
First, the Teletubbies are being brought to America by the same people -- The
Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Co. in New York -- who handled the licensing and
merchandising for "Thomas the Tank Engine" a few years back. If all of the
"Thomas the Tank Engine" tie-ins sold during its heyday were lined up, they'd
stretch to England and back.
Itsy Bitsy President Kenn Viselman also has a reputation for picking, and
promoting, winners, and he's giving "Teletubbies" his best marketing effort. He
hosted a premiere party last month for the show at Roseland in New York
that drew 3,000. (One attendee reports that some adults at the party were
snapping up the Teletubbies toys intended for the kids at the party, a good
sign that the toys, at least, will be a hit.)
Hasbro Inc. will produce the mass-market Teletubbies toys that will reach
stores like Toys "R" Us, Kay-Bee, and Wal-Mart in the fall. Eden Toys, the
New York-based company that makes the Madeline and Arthur dolls sold in
specialty toy stores, is producing a line of Teletubbies dolls that are scheduled
to arrive at The Grow-cery in Glen Rock, the Learning Express in Westwood,
and other small toy stores by the end of the month.
Dee Stevens, owner of The Grow-cery, said she took the advice of the Eden
sales rep who said "you have to order these," even though she hesitated
because it was yet another toy tied to a television show, albeit a show on
PBS.
Valerie Watson, owner of another specialty toy store, The Gifted Child in
Westwood, is taking a wait-and-see attitude. Watson notes that not all British
hits have been a success in America. "Fergie was doing that helicopter one
and that never went anywhere," she said, referring to the Duchess of York's
"Budgie" books and TV show.
"Teletubbies" and Itsy Bitsy Entertainment have reaped a bonanza of free
publicity from the debates over whether children as young as 1 should be
watching television, and whether the "eh-ohs" and baby talk of the Teletubbies
and the show's simple songs and endless repetition represents a dumbing
down of children's programming.
Much of the recent World Summit on Children's Television held in London
was devoted to speeches attacking or defending "Teletubbies." Critics charged
that the show provides no mental stimulation, while supporters praised it for
the same reason.
The show is completely child-focused, using camera angles from the
perspective of a toddler, and the show, in a way, plays with children the way
an adoring adult would -- repeating songs and stories, engaging in silly
peekaboo games, and letting them say "again, again."
Eileen Potrock, director of communications for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment, said
the creator of the show, Anne Wood, developed the program by watching
how very young children watch and react to television. "If children don't love
something in the show, she takes it out."
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