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If you’ve had a baby in the past 10 years, chances are you’ve received a cute little rubber giraffe as a baby gift. You may have even received that giraffe multiple times. Such is the irresistible charm of Sophie the Giraffe.
And while she may seemingly have come from nowhere to take the world by storm, like all great ‘overnight sensations’, the success story of Sophie the Giraffe is one worth sharing.
Sophie has been a childhood staple and national icon in her native France since she went into production on 25 May 1961. (Fun fact: She was named Sophie in celebration of the feast day of Saint Madeline Sophie Bara which falls on 25 May.) In fact, recent stats show that sales of the giraffe in France outstrip the number of babies born in one year – 816 000 giraffes versus 796 000 babies.
Sophie the Giraffe goes to Hollywood
But until Kate Hudson’s baby son Ryder was spotted ‘avec’ giraffe in 2004, the toy was largely ignored the world at large. Demand in Hollywood quickly rose for the ‘status teether’ and before you could say Mon Dieu, it was one of the most popular baby items on Amazon. In fact, about 500 000 Sophies are sold in the US each year. Now available in 77 countries around the world, a whopping 50 million Sophies have been sold.
Sophie finally made it to Australian shores in 2006 and has been a firm favourite amongst the junior set ever since. Sales were no doubt helped along by the massive recall in 2007 by Mattel of millions of lead-tainted Chinese-made toys. By contrast, Sophie the Giraffe continues to be produced in exactly the same way she was in 1961 – handmade from 100 percent natural rubber using food-grade paint. Because perfection never needs to be improved upon.
Sophie’s pricepoint is another reason for her success. At around $20 to $30 Sophie is expensive enough to be considered of value, but cheap enough not to be an extravagant, budget-breaking gift.
Sophie the Giraffe really does have it all going on … which makes her the perfect first toy for babies
And if you need any further convincing that Sophie the Giraffe really IS the Queen Of The Teething Toys, here are five more reasons babies are crazy for that little giraffe:
1. She loves a snuggle at nap time
? with your bestie is LOVE #sophiethegiraffe #love #sleep #ammehoela #ammehoelakids
2. She loves a splash in the bath
B L U E #sophiethegiraffe
3. She loves spreading the joy
Cudowny widok, idealne rozpoczęcie dnia 🙂 Dziękujemy @sentymentalna_mama #dziecko #instadziecko #sophiethegiraffe #fabrykawafelkow
4. She loves having her head nibbled on
Harry and Sophie #harrysmiles #babyharrow #littleharrow #princessharry #sophiethegiraffe #shanghai #sheepbaby #shanghaimamas #zaishanghai #zippy #wondersuit #bondsbaby #bondsaus #cutebabies #taitailife #lifeinchina #momlife #mygirl #mumlifeisthebestlife
5. She is super-stylish
?Exactly a week from today until we get to meet our little prince! ??Words can’t describe how much we look forward to have him home! Ryan Arild, mom, daddy and big brother love you very much! ? #junebaby #mamma #pregnant #37weeks #gravid #summer2016 #RyanArild #oslo #norway #latinvikin #nameit #nameitnorge #hustandclaire #sophiethegiraffe #gutt #boy #niño #toy #giraffe #girafa #sophielagirafe #clothes #baby #vest #artivingsoon
6. She loves getting out and about
I’m so happy I have a girl ? All those bows @sunnydaysboutique and dresses make my heart melt