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Knut coining it
27/03/2007 17:21 - (SA)
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| Doreen Grun, employee of German toy maker "Schildkroet", holds a stuffed animal representing polar bear cub Knut. Merchandising is booming around Berlin zoo star Knut, who has become a global sensation after surviving rejection by his mother. (AFP) |
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Berlin - Knut, the polar bear cub who survived rejection by his mother, has become a marketing phenomenon in Germany.
Thousands of extra visitors flocked to Berlin zoo at the weekend to get a glimpse of the little bear - and many took cuddly toy versions of Knut home with them.
The zoo sold 2 400 of the toys at the weekend and is rushing thousands more into production to re-stock its souvenir shop and meet orders from Austria and the United States.
German confectionery maker Haribo plans to add a new Knut-shaped design to its existing range of jelly bear sweets by the end of the week.
"We are reacting to a strong demand from parents and children," said Haribo spokesperson Marco Alfter.
And the German version of internet auction site e-Bay had more than 200 Knut items for sale on Tuesday.
The Berlin zoo has already copyrighted the Knut name and is planning a range of further related products, but stresses that the profits will be ploughed back into animal conservation.
"The proceeds will be used for the benefit of the zoo and the protection of species," the zoo's marketing manager Vivian Kreft said on Tuesday.
Knut hit the headlines this month when German media whipped up an outcry after an animal activist was quoted as saying that he should have been put down after he and his brother were rejected by their mother following their birth in December.
Claims by the activist that he was misquoted have been lost in the ensuing media storm.
The marketing men, however, see one problem with the appeal of their cuddly new star: he is growing fast.
Knut currently weighs in at 9kg, but fully grown polar bear males can top the scales at 600kg.
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