Wisdom Of Ages

Bouncing into stores near you...

It's that time of year again--the time when trend watchers everywhere place their bets on the toy most likely to succeed Tickle Me Elmo as the first-place finisher in what's become an ultracompetitive holiday shopping derby. Our pick for 1998's leading contender? None other than a resident of the Hundred-Acre Wood--only maybe not the one you think.

No offense to Pooh, but the bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy Tigger looks to hop onto center stage in the form of Mattel's Bounce Around Tigger. Timed to coincide with the exuberant one's 70th birthday, Bounce Around Tigger lives up to his name by, well, bouncing on his own. Afterwards, he exclaims, "Bouncin's what Tiggers do best!"

Such a high-profile product promises to get consumers mulling anew over the wonderful thing about Tiggers, which is that Tiggers are wonderful things. With plenty of appeal for kids and adults alike, we look for Tigger's bounce in popularity to extend into next year. After that, who knows? Perhaps an Eeyore revival is in order.

This article was originally published in the November 1998 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Wisdom Of Ages.