GIBSON 'SLAMMERS' ARE A BIG NOISE AT TOY FAIR

CHRISTINA VEIDERS

NEW YORK -- Silly Slammers is Gibson Greetings' crossover entree to the toy industry. Billed as "beanbags with an attitude," the talking plush items were seen everywhere in town during the International Toy Fair, held here earlier this month.

About one million pieces have been shipped since Silly Slammers hit supermarket shelves last fall, according to Bob Cavellier, general manager of the gifts and novelties strategic business unit for Gibson, based in Cincinnati.

Many retailers are on their third and fourth re-orders, Cavellier noted.

The items, which retail for $4.99, have even spurred in-store events. Marsh Supermarkets, Indianapolis, and bigg's, Milford, Ohio, held Silly Slammer target-throwing contests, Cavellier reported.

Marc Sutherland, marketing director at Winn-Dixie Stores' Tampa, Fla., division, told SN the item has been a runaway best seller since its introduction at 109 stores in the division. "We're on our fourth re-order for Silly Slammers, which are good sellers at $5. They move well from dump displays and we've had great success with them," he said.

The Winn-Dixie division has one display per store in the greeting card area. Sutherland said re-ordered products in new displays will be arranged in rows instead of a dump presentation.

A third generation of slammers, with six new characters, will be rolled out in April in 48- and 96-piece shippers. Gibson will take advantage of niche- and seasonal-merchandising opportunities by marketing sports, office group, monsters and Christmas-themed slammers.

The item will be backed by a multimillion dollar ad campaign that is expected to air nationally later in the year, according to Gibson. Actor/comedian Michael Winslow, whose voice can mimic a wide range of sounds, has been signed to a one-year promotional agreement. He will appear in a TV commercial that will air in selected markets this spring.

The Feb. 9 to 11 Toy Fair event marked Gibson's first appearance as an exhibitor. Participation as a Toy Fair exhibitor is part of Gibson's repositioning strategy to open up other distribution channels, Frank O'Connell, chairman, president and chief executive officer, told SN.