2007 saw a Tele-tastic year for the British children's television phenomenon, Teletubbies, as it celebrated its tenth anniversary having become one of the most successful pre-school properties of all time.
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Following a joint venture between ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Worldwide and Ragdoll Ltd, the partnership saw international hit Teletubbies mark a special year of celebrations including toy sales success, an international tour, new licensees and products launched to market.
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Toy sales success
The 10th anniversary saw a massive increase in toy sales for Tomy's Teletubbies range – with a lift of 86% in value year-on-year at the height of the marketing activity.*
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Tomy's Teletubby toys continued to command an impressive position within the infant category over the year with top performers including Tomy's Teletummy which held the No.1 position in the infant plush category – with three other Teletubby toys also holding top 10 positions in the chart.**
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Other star performers in the anniversary year and continuing into 2008 for Tomy are: the Teletubby Bean Toys – the 3rd largest selling infant toy by volume of the year with growth of 125% year-on-year and Tomy's Teletubby Bath Island, the 4th largest selling bath toy with storming salesÌýup 1127% year-on-year.***
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Teletubbies tour
To mark their special anniversary, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Worldwide and Ragdoll honoured the beloved quartet and their fans with a year of celebrations on an international scale.
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Kicking off in March 2007, the Teletubbies made the first of their appearances in public at a star-studded event in London before embarking on a global tour.
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The tour, which saw international coverage and recognition for the Teletubbies, began in New York before scaling the far reaches of the earth, from Holland, through Germany, Singapore, Amsterdam, Paris and London.
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The Teletubbies continued their raft of special public performances in the latter half of 2007 debuting on the CBeebies Live! stage for the very first time.
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In honour of their birthday, the characters made their theatrical debut at arenas across the UK to sell-out success and unprecedented ticket sales of over 125,000 going in to 2008.
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New for Teletubbies 10th
New partners were bought on board to maximise the anniversary in 2007. They included Zaks who produced a new range of tableware and Kids Kreations who developed a range of classic wooden toys featuring all four Teletubby characters and their friend the Noo-Noo.
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The Happy Birthday and Happy Christmas DVDs were both released in 2007 with significant success in the market. The first-ever official Teletubbies shop was also launched selling a plethora of licensed merchandise at , the week after it was launched it was the third highest ranking Teletubbies site on Google.
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In 2008, Tomy will launch three new products Dance with Me Teletubby – available in all four characters, Hide Inside Teletubbies and Magic Sounds Teletubby in their four incarnations. The bath collectables range will also be re-launched in 2008.
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More about Teletubbies
Teletubbies has been seen by millions of children across the globe in 120 countries and translated in to 45 languages. It also holds the distinction of being the first Western pre-school children's programme to appear on national television in China.
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Over the last decade, Teletubbies has been the winner of over 30 awards including: Royal Television Society in 2001 for Best Pre-School Education Awards, Children's BAFTA's in 1998 and 2001 for Best Pre-School Programme and Best Pre-School Live-Action award respectively.
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Teletubbies magazine is the longest standing magazine in the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Worldwide portfolio, and even more than a decade later, the single brand character magazine lies 4th behind Bob the Builder, Charlie and Lola and Dora the ExplorerÌýwith anÌýABC January-June 2007 averaging 55,120.
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* NPD data September 2007
** NPD data November 2007
*** NPD data November 2007
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