(World-famous musical artist “Pink” signing 5,000 Baby Pink Rubba Ducks for the KIIS-FM Radio giveaway)
For any nation to become a notable authority with a mark left in history, they need to develop products and showcase their customs for everyone to see. It has been observed that countries are widely known or represented by the innovation they bring forward for the world to see and enjoy. The United States has always been at the frontlines of each industry and has made continuous strides to be the pioneering authority of the world. Even the toy industry is one where the U.S. has made its mark with inventions of one-of-a-kind novelty toys such as the classic yellow rubber duck. One company that has continued to improve and enhance the idea of this original toy and is bringing it into the global spotlight again is “Rubba Ducks.”
A nation’s individuality is shown by its customs and what new innovations it can introduce to the world. For example, the Japanese founded and brought forward their own twist on an animation called ‘Anime.’ Although cartoons were not a new thing at that time, portraying their culture and putting their own twist in the art style put that creation in its own domain. Nowadays, Japanese anime is in a league of its own with an unfathomable following on a global scale. It is no longer referred to as a type of cartoon and is known by the name by all of the people that enjoy it.
Similarly, rubber ducks were a product brought before the world by Eleanor Shannahan of Maryland, the USA, in 1931. It was designed as an aquatic toy that could be used while bathing and would spray water from their mouths. This toy was an original idea that was never thought of before that could be made to make bath time an enjoyable process for the children.
Bathing little kids was a task that posed some problems for the majority of the parents. Small children usually do not like having baths, and making them take one proves to be a difficult task. Rubber ducks were made with the goal of having a toy that can be used to divert the attention of kids and make bath time enjoyable for them while the parents took care of their hygienic needs. This toy received much recognition from parents around the world and became a must-have for any American household. Rubber ducks further increased in popularity after being given some airtime in the popular show Sesame Street with Ernie getting in the tub and singing to his yellow rubber duck.
Mark Boldt, the founder of Rubba Ducks, got the idea for his innovative product from a cute comment his at that time four-year-old daughter Savannah made in 1996. She wondered if the yellow rubber duck she enjoyed playing with could all look different with unique personalities like people. Mark saw the opportunity in his daughter’s idea and decided to be the one that would bring this nostalgic American classic back in the spotlight of the children’s toy industry. He understood what nostalgia triggers these yellow duck-shaped toys were and knew that with his unique innovation in its design would be appreciated. Therefore in 1997, he launched his company ‘The Duck Group LLC,” now known as “Rubba Ducks.” The first consignment of beautifully designed Rubba Ducks was launched before Christmas at the retail chain of Spencer’s in 1999. The newly designed Rubba Ducks were met with a great response as they quickly flew off the shelves. After this initial success, they were licensed to the Commonwealth Toy company in 2000. Rubba Ducks were the point of focus during the North American International Toy Fair held in 2001. The rapid increase in popularity brought Rubba Ducks to the attention of many big retailers in the toy industry. And soon, Rubba Ducks was in collaboration with industry giants such as Toy’s R Us, Target, Kaybee Toys, and Hallmark.
In 2001, Rubba Ducks created 200,000 D. Cure Breast Cancer ducks for General Motors and 25,000 ducks for General Mills. In 2002 they created 75,000 Rubba Ducks for the MGM Mirage – Liberduck, Hero, and P.D. In the same year, KIIS-FM Radio and the popular musical artist Pink had a special promotion handing out over 5,000 Baby Pink Rubba Ducks.
Their entry onto a bigger stage was when Rubba Ducks were chosen to be an award’s show gift for the winning celebrities at the Oscars, Grammy’s and CMA’s. This brought greater attention to this relatively new company and resulted in big partnerships with more Gift Specialty Stores nationwide and Walgreens in 2010.
In addition to this, Rubba Ducks were also featured on segments of WCBS-TV “CBS Evening News,” “Good Day Philadelphia,” and placements on CNBC-TV’s “The Edge,” WNBC-TV’s “Today in New York Week-End,” NBC TV’s “Friend’s,” ABC TV’s “Judging Amy,” the syndicated “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” and HBO’s series “Sex and the City.” This is proof enough of what a long way this new twist to a classic American toy had come.
Rubba Ducks were created to bring back a toy that was enjoyed by all and represented the mark of the American nation on the global toy industry. Mark Boldt believed that this idea could become a huge success, and he geared all of his efforts to ensure that this belief of his was realized.