The toy was first introduced in the United States in 1996 and would quickly become a fad. The doll's short supply, due to the unexpected demand, led to a secondary market where scalpers would sell the plush toy for hundreds of US dollars. Some instances of violence were reported over the limited stock amidst heavy consumer demand. People reported that the toy, which retailed for US$28.99, had been advertised in newspapers and the Internet, asking up to $1500 by the year's end.
Development:
"Tickles The Chimp", the precursor to Tickle Me Elmo, was invented by Ron Dubren and Greg Hyman in 1992. In 1992, 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 Sesame Street plush, but did have Looney Tunes plush rights so it was worked on for several months as Tickle Me Tasmanian Devil. 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.
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 Elmo Craze:
Tickle Me Elmo was released in July 1996, with a supply of 400,000 units. The dolls sold well, but remained widely available 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" created unexpected demand for Elmo, resulting in shortages in the stores that sold it.
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 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. 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.
Further 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. 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 "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 $200,000.