Why does Toys 'R' Us use a giraffe as a mascot?

Answer 1

Toys "R" Us is a toy store chain based in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The company operates nearly 700 stores in the United States and nearly 600 stores are operating in 29 other countries, some of them under franchises or licenses. The flagship store in New York City's Times Square is the largest toy store in the world, featuring a colorful ferris wheel.


In the 1960s, Geoffrey the Giraffe, an anthropomorphic cartoon giraffe character, was introduced as its mascot. His name has been followed in the 1970s, after a "Name the Mascot"-type contest and later on he had been given an extended family, his wife, Gigi, his daughter, Baby Gee, and his son, Geoffrey Junior. Recently, he was re-introduced not as a cartoon character, but as a real-life giraffe who talks. An animatronic version of Geoffrey the Giraffe (created by Stan Winston Studios), was voiced by Jim Hanks in commercials for radio and television, since 2001.

In the UK, the Geoffrey mascot has been phased out in favour of the backwards R logo - however some older stores still retain Geoffrey on the store frontage, whilst the newer stores have the backwards R logo only.
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Walk-Around Character

This person does the costume character version of Geoffrey the Giraffe and was generally seen walking around many aisles in Toys "R" Us/Kids "R" Us stores every 35 minutes. Like most mascot suit characters, Geoffrey isn't allowed to speak, and can only imply his intentions with hand gestures. The approximate weight is about 2 pounds, not including head. The plastic head (complete with inner helmet for protection) weighs approximately 4 pounds and rests on the shoulders of the person inside the suit. In stores that hire or promote a full-time walk-around character; this employee has several extra duties that include getting the "Geoffrey the Giraffe" costume professional dry-cleaned and washed (depending on the parts of the costume in question), cleaning the Geoffrey room before the end of every shift, and fixing broken parts of the costume (for instance, gluing the teeth back in after being ripped out by a guest). With the company's recent move to abandon the use of curtains with the animatronic shows, it is common to see the walk-around character perform in full view of the animatronic character. This tends to lessen the ability to "suspend disbelief" with the characters.

In Geoffrey's Toys "R" Us" stores, an associate will don the Geoffrey costume and visit the children in the birthday party.

Answer 2

Geoffey the giraffe is a mascot known primarily in the midwest.

The Mascot
Geoffrey Giraffe has been the official mascot for Toys "R" Us since the 1960s.

In the 1960s, Geoffrey the Giraffe, an anthropomorphic cartoon giraffe character, was introduced as its mascot. His name has been followed in the 1970s, after a "Name the Mascot"-type contest and later on he had been given an extended family, his wife, Gigi, his daughter, Baby Gee, and his son, Geoffrey Junior. Recently, he was re-introduced not as a cartoon character, but as a real-life giraffe who talks. An animatronic version of Geoffrey the Giraffe (created by Stan Winston Studios), was voiced by Jim Hanks in commercials for radio and television, since 2001.

Answer 3

Toys R Us Giraffe

Answer 4

" Geoffrey Giraffe - Spokes-animal for the "Toys 'R Us" nationwide chain-store. Geoffrey began appearing on TV in the early 1970s plugging children's toys in anticipation of the Christmas rush. Geoffrey's character is brought to life by an actor who wears a two-legged giraffe costume with a seven-feet-tall neck. In recent years, he teamed with such new characters as Gigi, his wife; Baby Gee, his daughter; and his son, Junior. Geoffrey and family don't sell particular products but only represent the store as a whole. Neither do the characters talk. They only pantomime their commercial roles. Charles Lazarus founded Toys 'R Us when he returned home from World War II where he had served as a cryptologist. His store was originally called "Children's Supermart." The R's in his company name were reversed to increase recognition of his store. He later changed the store's name to Toys 'R Us, keeping the letter "R" reversed. Toys 'R Us carries all major toy lines including those manufactured by Hasbro, Mattel, Coleco Industries, Kenner/Parker Brother Toys and Fischer Price Toys. The new animatronic Geoffrey, created by legendary movie creature expert Stan Winston, features the "distinctive, witty voice" of Jim Hanks, brother of actor Tom Hanks. "

Here's an interesting article on the creator of Geoffrey:
http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP/MGArticle/CDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128768852742&path=

Answer 5

Geoffrey The Giraffe

Answer 6

Why does Geico use a gecko?

Because they wanted to based on an advertising campaign they intended when first designing their business plan.

Answer 7

I'm curious too

Answer 8

what kid doesn't like a giraffe?

Answer 9

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when you mom and the giraffe are done or the bed breaks

Answer 10

IT'S GEOFFREY THE GIRAFFE.