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A must-have collectible for the My Pet Monster fanatic

1988 CARL'S JR. MY PET MONSTER GOES TO SCHOOL BOOK

DETAILS:

Promotional version with Carl's Jr. logo on back!

In 1988 Carl's Jr. fast food restaurants offered exclusive My Pet Monster merchandise, including books and toys, along with their kid's meals. The Golden Look-Look Book My Pet Monster Goes to School was originally published, by Western Publishing Company, in 1986 for retail purchase. In 1988 Carl's Jr. put their logo on the back cover (original back cover is blank) and offered it to children through their wonderful and tasty meals for kids. This pop culture blast-from-the-past is a true gem for collectors and enthusiasts of nostalgic and fast food memorabilia.

Featuring the beloved character My Pet Monster, this Carl's Jr. exclusive kid's book takes readers on an exciting adventure as Monster secretly goes to Matt's school to participate in the school's talent show. With vibrant illustrations and a captivating storyline, it is a perfect addition to any vintage children's book collection or My Pet Monster fan's treasure trove.

The Carl's Jr. promotional version of the My Pet Monster Goes To School book is a sought-after collectible that would make an excellent addition to any nostalgic or fast food collection or a unique gift for a fan of My Pet Monster, Carl's Jr., or 1980s memorabilia.

CONDITION:

In good, pre-owned condition. The book has some signs of wear from its journey through time. There are some stains and pen marks inside, adding a unique charm to its authenticity and history. Despite these imperfections, the book remains intact and perfectly readable, making it a delightful piece of nostalgia. Please see photos.

To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out.

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"Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., with franchisees in North & South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa.

In 2016, Entrepreneur listed Carl's Jr. as No. 54 on their Top Franchise 500 list, which ranks the overall financial strength, stability, and growth rate for the top 500 franchises in any field across the United States.[3]

As of March 2016, CKE (the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's) has a total of 3,664 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 38 foreign countries and U.S. territories.[4]
History

In 1941, Carl Karcher (1917–2008), who was a truck driver, and his wife Margaret Karcher (1915–2006), borrowed $311 ($6,188 in 2022 dollars [5]) on their Plymouth automobile and added $15 ($298 in 2022 dollars [5]) in savings to purchase a hot dog cart on the corner of Florence and Central in Los Angeles. From their newly purchased cart, they sold hot dogs, chili dogs, and tamales for a dime ($2 in 2022 dollars [5]), and soda for a nickel ($1 in 2022 dollars [5]). Within a few years, Carl and Margaret owned and operated four hot dog stands in Los Angeles. In 1945, the Karchers moved the short distance to Anaheim, California, and opened their first full-service restaurant, Carl's Drive-In Barbecue at 1108 N. Palm St. (now Harbor).[6][7] In 1946, hamburgers were added to the menu for the first time.

In 1956, Karcher opened the first two Carl's Jr. restaurants – so named because they were a smaller version of Carl's Drive-In Barbecue restaurant – in Anaheim and Brea.[8] The first local Carl's Jr. was built in 1956 on the former Janss Street next to St. Boniface Catholic Church about half a block away from Anaheim High School. That former Carl's Jr. is now the church's Bethany Hall while currently a restaurant is now located one block south on Harbor Boulevard. The former flagship Carl's Jr. is located at 1200 N. Harbor Blvd in Anaheim next to the former corporate headquarter office at 401 Carl Karcher Way until 2003, when the company moved its headquarters to a larger facility 500 feet north of the original location at 1325 N Anaheim Blvd. in Anaheim, then moving again in 2018 to Franklin, Tennessee.[9][7][10]

By the end of the 1950s, there were four Carl's Jr. restaurants in Orange County, California. The restaurants also had a new supervisor, Donald F. Karcher, Carl's younger brother, who would later become the company's president.[9]

By the 1960s, Carl was operating 24 restaurants in Southern California. The company incorporated in 1966 as Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., and launched a major expansion of the chain in 1968. The menus were limited for faster service, featuring charbroiled hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and malts.[9]

By 1975, there were more than 100 Carl's Jr. locations in Southern California, and the company expanded into the northern part of the state. Carl's Jr. celebrated its success by building its Anaheim corporate headquarters in 1976. The following year, it became the first QSR chain to offer salad bars in all 200 locations. The first out-of-state restaurant opened in Las Vegas in 1979. By the end of the decade, sales exceeded the $100 million mark.[9]
Breakfast food served at a Carl's Jr. in La Mesa, California, in 2016. Carl's Jr. first began serving breakfast in 1984.

In 1980, the company hired its 10,000th employee, doubling its employee count in just three years. In 1981, with 300 restaurants in operation, Carl Karcher Enterprises became a publicly held company. In 1984, Carl's Jr. was franchised for the first time. Carl's Jr.'s menu expanded during the decade with the addition of the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, breakfast items, a charbroiled chicken sandwich line, and self-service soda fountains. By the end of the decade, sales topped $480 million at 534 restaurants. The company also opened its first international units in the Pacific Rim. In addition, Carl's Jr. was one of the first chains to introduce a debit card payment system, inviting customers to use their ATM cards in the restaurants.[9]

In 1988, Karcher and his family were accused of insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission. They had sold large quantities of stock before the price dropped. Karcher agreed to a settlement with the SEC and paid more than half a million dollars in fines.[11]
Former Carl's Jr. in Denton, Texas. This location closed in 2018.

Carl's Jr. chains had struggled to gain success in Arizona and Texas, perhaps diminishing hopes of expansion to other states, though later states like Nevada, Oregon, and Washington proved successful. During the 1990s, Karcher and the board of directors began clashing, often publicly, over marketing and business practices, including the chain's attempt at dual branding with such chains as The Green Burrito and its new advertising campaigns. Karcher was removed as chairman of the company by its board of directors on October 1, 1993.[12] Soon after, the board of directors took a new approach by cutting the menu, lowering prices, and introducing a new marketing campaign which targeted younger urban and suburban males.[8]

Following Don Karcher's death in 1992, a new management team was installed in 1994, headed by CEO William P. Foley II and President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Thompson. Carl Karcher Enterprises became a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.[9]

During the mid-1990s, Carl's Jr. unveiled its "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face" campaign, which featured younger people eating Carl's Jr.'s burgers with ketchup and juice dripping from the burger and onto clothes and other areas.[13]

In 1997, CKE Restaurants acquired Hardee's, a restaurant chain with 2500 locations in the Midwest, South, and East Coast regions.[14]

In 2001, Carl's Jr. introduced the Thickburger line with the 1/2 lb. Six Dollar Burger, with sister chain Hardee's following in 2003.

In 2002, CKE Restaurants acquired Santa Barbara Restaurant Group, the parent company of the Green Burrito brand. Some Carl's Jr. stores are now co-branded with Green Burrito, as are some Hardee's stores.[9]

In 2005, Carl's Jr. introduced hand-scooped ice cream shakes.

On January 11, 2008, Carl Karcher, the founder of hamburger chain Carl's Jr., died at the age of 90. A spokeswoman for CKE Restaurants said Karcher suffered from Parkinson's disease and was being treated for Parkinson's-related pneumonia when he died at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California. Many Carl's Jr. restaurants flew their flags at half-staff in memory of Karcher.[8]

In the 2010s, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's rolled out Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders. Carl's Jr. and Hardee's began offering Charbroiled Turkey Burgers in 2011, marking another industry first by becoming the first national fast food chains to offer Turkey Burgers.

In July 2010, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. was acquired by Columbia Lake Acquisition Holdings, Inc., an affiliate of Apollo Management VII, L.P. allowing CKE to continue to grow and succeed as a privately held company under the ownership of Apollo.

In 2011, Carl's Jr. introduced made-from-scratch biscuits. On November 20, 2013, Roark Capital Group agreed to acquire CKE from Apollo for $1.65–$1.75 billion.

In December 2014, Carl's Jr. introduced the All-Natural Burger, featuring an all-natural, grass-fed, free-range beef patty that has no added hormones, antibiotics, or steroids – the first major fast-food chain to offer an all-natural beef patty on the menu. In December 2015, the All-Natural Turkey Burger was introduced – the fast food industry's first.

In September 2017, CKE decided to re-brand its Poughkeepsie, New York, and Middletown, New York, Hardee's locations into Carl's Jr. in order to focus on lunch and dinner options for a Northeastern United States consumer base, however both those stores have closed.[15]

Although, since 1997 both Hardee's and Carl's Jr operated essentially as one brand, 2018 saw CKE Restaurants announced plans to try to separate their identities. Part of the effort involved remodeling several Hardee's restaurants as well as giving both brands distinct ad campaigns.[16][17] Although both chains at the time of the split shared the same menu CKE noted that they would slowly change over time although with "some overlap" [16]

In January 2019, Carls Jr. introduced a Beyond Meat patty as an addition to their menu. They were one of the first large chain restaurants to introduce a vegan-friendly patty to their menu and roll it out to all of their locations. Soon after Burger King and many others followed by adding plant-based burgers to their menus.[18]

In mid-March 2020, all restaurants temporarily abandoned indoor dining to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers could still make their orders via drive thru, pick-up or take-away service.
International
A portobello mushroom burger and fries from the Carl's Jr. in Plaza Semanggi, Jakarta, Indonesia

In November 2015, Carl's Jr. opened its 200th restaurant in Mexico.[citation needed] The brand first entered the market in 1991.[citation needed]

In August 2016, Carl's Jr. opened its first location in India at Saket's Select Citywalk Mall in Delhi.[19]

As of 2017, CKE (the parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's) has a total of 3665 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 39 foreign countries and U.S. territories. Outside of the U.S., Carl's Jr. is currently present in Australia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, western Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnam.[20]It is expected to come to the United Kingdom sometime around Mid 2023.[21]

According to Yale's Chief Executive Leadership Institute, Carl's Jr is listed as a company that has refused to curtail its business in Russia after the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine.[22]
Philanthropy

CKE conducts an annual Stars for Heroes in-store fundraising campaign at both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's to benefit U.S. military veterans and their families. Since the program's launch in 2011, Stars for Heroes has raised nearly $5 million.
Co-branding

In several Western U.S. locations, Carl's Jr. parent CKE has begun operating co-branded restaurants with its Green Burrito group. This same strategy has also been used by Yum! Brands with its KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell. And Formerly Yum! Brands A&W Restaurants, and Long John Silver's concepts to expand brands without the additional expense of new buildings and land.[23]
Advertising
Carl's Jr. logo from June 12, 2006,[24] to March 28, 2017. Still used at most locations.
Carl's Jr. logo from November 5, 2018,[25] to September 21, 2022 (it was still used on its website until early December). Still used on some advertisements and some newly remodeled locations.

When Carl's Jr. first started rebranding Hardee's locations into the Carl's Jr. name, both chains mostly kept separate ads. This changed with the now-infamous Paris Hilton ad (see below) and the "Without us, some guys would starve." Campaign, which aired as either for Carl's Jr. or Hardee's, depending on where the ads aired. This would continue with other ads for the next several years, including ads by Kate Upton, Kim Kardashian, Emily Ratajkowski, Sara Jean Underwood,[26][27] Hannah Ferguson, Heidi Klum, Charlotte McKinney, Ronda Rousey, Padma Lakshmi,[28] and Hayden Panettiere.[29]

In January 1997, commercials featuring NBA player Dennis Rodman were, pulled after he was fined a then-record $25,000 and suspended for 11 games for kicking a cameraman in the groin during a game in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His commercials resumed airing after his suspension was lifted. However, in June of that same year, Carl's Jr pulled his commercials for good after he was fined a then-record $50,000 for using profanity against Mormons during a game in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In 2005, Carl's Jr. launched a marketing campaign featuring bikini-clad models posing suggestively to capture the "hungry, young guy" demographic. The advertisements were criticized for objectifying women and prompted calls to boycott Carl's Jr.[30] Company CEO Andrew Puzder defended the campaign in Entrepreneur magazine, saying, "I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it's very American."[31]

In the years before his death in 2008, Karcher objected to the sexualized nature of the company's advertising, and was reported "just heartbroken" that a company he founded on Christian principles has taken such "an amoral act."[32] Karcher had previously criticized CKE's previous campaigns during the 1990s.[33]
Paris Hilton campaign

In May 2005, Carl's Jr. introduced its "Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger" in a television advertisement created by Mendelsohn Zien Advertising. The ad features Paris Hilton in a provocative swimsuit soaping up a Bentley automobile and crawling all over it before taking a big bite out of her burger and giving her signature phrase, "That's hot."[34][35] The commercial was directed by Chris Applebaum.[13]

With the two chains selling many common menu items by 2013, Carl's Jr. began to advertise nationally in conjunction with Hardee's for products sold by both brands.
All Natural campaign

In January 2015, Carl's Jr. released a commercial online featuring model Charlotte McKinney advertising its new All Natural Burger to air regionally during Super Bowl XLIX. The ad features McKinney walking around a farmers' market, implying that she is "all natural", and uses double entendres to suggest that she is naked with strategically placed items in the market until it reveals McKinney in a bikini eating the All Natural Burger. Critics suggest that the ad "sets feminism back four decades," while others, including McKinney's elderly grandfather, enjoyed the ad.[36][37][38] The ad now features Hardee's co-branding as the All Natural Burger is now offered by Hardee's. As of June 2016, Charlotte McKinney's "Au Natural" ad debut has garnered over 4.5 billion media impressions worldwide[39] and more than 13 million views on the chains' YouTube channel.[40]
Carl Hardee Sr. campaign

In March 2017, Carl's Jr. released a commercial featuring a white-bearded character named Carl Hardee Sr. (played by Charles Esten) who had come back into the office (much to the delight of the employees) to find his son Carl Jr. (Drew Tarver) who was focusing on sex appeal over its food. The commercial marked a turning point in CKE's advertising, claiming it wanted to move away from its provocative ads and focus more on food and as a competitor to Five Guys, Steak 'n Shake, and In-N-Out Burger. "Carl Hardee Sr." is also expected to become the new company spokesperson. The campaign also introduced newer modernized logos for both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's.[41]
The Call of Carl's campaign

In 2018, CKE resumed producing separate campaigns for their Hardee's and Carl's Jr. brands. For Carl's Jr., it started The Call of Carl's campaign featuring the voice of Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey." (wikipedia.org)

"Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredients and served in packaging for take-out/takeaway. Fast food was created as a commercial strategy to accommodate large numbers of busy commuters, travelers and wage workers. In 2018, the fast food industry was worth an estimated $570 billion globally.[1]

The fastest form of "fast food" consists of pre-cooked meals which reduce waiting periods to mere seconds. Other fast food outlets, primarily hamburger outlets such as McDonald's, use mass-produced, pre-prepared ingredients (bagged buns and condiments, frozen beef patties, vegetables which are prewashed, pre-sliced, or both; etc.) and cook the meat and french fries fresh, before assembling "to order".

Fast food restaurants are traditionally distinguished by the drive-through. Outlets may be stands or kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating,[2] or fast food restaurants (also known as quick service restaurants).[3] Franchise operations that are part of restaurant chains have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.[4]

Many fast foods tend to be high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories.[5] Fast food has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, obesity, high cholesterol, insulin resistance conditions and depression.[6][7][8][9][10] These correlations remain strong even when controlling for confounding lifestyle variables, suggesting a strong association between fast food consumption and increased risk of disease and early mortality.[11]
History
Pulling wheat dough into thin strands to form lamian
See also: Fast food restaurant § History

The concept of ready-cooked food for sale is closely connected with urban developments. Homes in emerging cities often lacked adequate space or proper food preparation accoutrements. Additionally, procuring cooking fuel could cost as much as purchased produce. Frying foods in vats of searing oil proved as dangerous as it was expensive. Homeowners feared that a rogue cooking fire "might easily conflagrate an entire neighborhood".[12] Thus, urbanites were encouraged to purchase pre-prepared meats or starches, such as bread or noodles, whenever possible. This also ensured that customers with strictly limited time (a commuter stopping to procure dinner to bring home to their family, for example, or an hourly laborer on a short lunch break) were not inconvenienced by waiting for their food to be cooked on-the-spot (as is expected from a traditional "sit down" restaurant). In Ancient Rome, cities had street stands – a large counter with a receptacle in the middle from which food or drink would have been served.[13] It was during post-WWII American economic boom that Americans began to spend more and buy more as the economy boomed and a culture of consumerism bloomed. As a result of this new desire to have it all, coupled with the strides made by women while the men were away, both members of the household began to work outside the home. Eating out, which had previously been considered a luxury, became a common occurrence, and then a necessity. Workers, and working families, needed quick service and inexpensive food for both lunch and dinner. The traditional family dinner is increasingly being replaced by the consumption of takeaway fast food. As a result, the time invested on food preparation is getting lower, with an average woman in the United States spending 47 minutes per day preparing food and the average man spending 19 minutes per day in 2013.[14]
Pre-industrial Old World

In the cities of Roman antiquity, much of the urban population living in insulae, multi-story apartment blocks, depended on food vendors for much of their meal; the Forum itself served as a marketplace where Romans could purchase baked goods and cured meats.[15] In the mornings, bread soaked in wine was eaten as a quick snack and cooked vegetables and stews later in popina, a simple type of eating establishment.[16] In Asia, 12th century Chinese ate fried dough, soups and stuffed buns, all of which still exist as contemporary snack food.[17] Their Baghdadi contemporaries supplemented home-cooked meals with processed legumes, purchased starches, and even ready-to-eat meats.[18] During the Middle Ages, large towns and major urban areas such as London and Paris supported numerous vendors that sold dishes such as pies, pasties, flans, waffles, wafers, pancakes and cooked meats. As in Roman cities during antiquity, many of these establishments catered to those who did not have means to cook their own food, particularly single households. Unlike richer town dwellers, many often could not afford housing with kitchen facilities and thus relied on fast food. Travelers such as pilgrims en route to a holy site, were among the customers.[19]
United Kingdom
Blue plaque in Oldham, England commemorating the 1860s origins of fish and chips and the fast food industry

In areas with access to coastal or tidal waters, 'fast food' frequently included local shellfish or seafood, such as oysters or, as in London, eels. Often this seafood was cooked directly on the quay or close by.[20] The development of trawler fishing in the mid-nineteenth century led to the development of a British favourite, fish and chips, and the first shop in 1860.[21]
Fish and chips in a wrapper

A blue plaque at Oldham's Tommyfield Market marks the origin of the fish and chip shop and fast food industries.[21] As a cheap fast food served in a wrapper, fish and chips became a stock meal among the Victorian working classes.[21] By 1910, there were more than 25,000 fish and chip shops across the UK, and in the 1920s there were more than 35,000 shops.[22] Harry Ramsden's fast food restaurant chain opened its first fish and chip shop in Guiseley, West Yorkshire in 1928. On a single day in 1952, the shop served 10,000 portions of fish and chips, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records.[23]

British fast food had considerable regional variation. Sometimes the regionality of a dish became part of the culture of its respective area, such as the Cornish pasty and deep-fried Mars bar. The content of fast food pies has varied, with poultry (such as chickens) or wildfowl commonly being used. Since the Second World War, turkey has been used more frequently in fast food.[24] The UK has adopted fast food from other cultures as well, such as pizza, doner kebab, and curry. More recently, healthier alternatives to conventional fast food have also emerged.
United States
Neighboring fast food restaurant advertisement signs in Bowling Green, Kentucky for Wendy's, KFC, Krystal and Taco Bell. A McDonald's sign can be seen in the very far background.
See also: Fast food restaurant § North America

As automobiles became popular and more affordable following World War I, drive-in restaurants were introduced. The American company White Castle, founded by Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson in Wichita, Kansas in 1921, is generally credited with opening the first fast food outlet and first hamburger chain, selling hamburgers for five cents each.[25] Walter Anderson had built the first White Castle restaurant in Wichita in 1916, introducing the limited menu, high-volume, low-cost, high-speed hamburger restaurant.[26] Among its innovations, the company allowed customers to see the food being prepared. White Castle was successful from its inception and spawned numerous competitors.

Franchising was introduced in 1921 by A&W Root Beer, which franchised its distinctive syrup. Howard Johnson's first franchised the restaurant concept in the mid-1930s, formally standardizing menus, signage and advertising.[26]

Curb service was introduced in the late 1920s and was mobilized in the 1940s when carhops strapped on roller skates.[27]

The United States has the largest fast food industry in the world, and American fast food restaurants are located in over 100 countries. Approximately 5.4 million U.S. workers are employed in the areas of food preparation and food servicing, including fast food in the US as of 2018.[28] Worries of an obesity epidemic and its related illnesses have inspired many local government officials in the United States to propose to limit or regulate fast-food restaurants. Yet, US adults are unwilling to change their fast food consumption even in the face of rising costs and unemployment characterized by the great recession, suggesting an inelastic demand.[29] However, some areas are more affected than others. In Los Angeles County, for example, about 45% of the restaurants in South Central Los Angeles are fast-food chains or restaurants with minimal seating. By comparison, only 16% of those on the Westside are such restaurants.[30]
Working conditions

The National Employment Law Project wrote in 2013, "according to a study by researchers at the University of California-Berkeley, more than half (52 percent) of front-line fast-food workers must rely on at least one public assistance program to support their families. As a result, the fast-food-industry business model of low wages, non-existent benefits, and limited work hours costs taxpayers an average of nearly $7 billion every year". They claim this funding allows these workers to "afford health care, food, and other basic necessities".[31][32]
On the go
See also: Convenience food
McDonald's first two-lane drive-thru was at the Rock N Roll McDonald's in Chicago.

Fast food outlets are take-away or take-out providers that promise quick service. Such fast food outlets often come with a "drive-through" service that lets customers order and pick up food from their vehicles. Others have indoor or outdoor seating areas where customers can eat on-site. The boom in IT services has allowed customers to order food from their homes through their smartphone apps in recent times.

Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten "on the go," often does not require traditional cutlery, and is eaten as a finger food. Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips, sandwiches, pitas, hamburgers, fried chicken, french fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza, hot dogs, and ice cream, though many fast food restaurants offer "slower" foods like chili, mashed potatoes, and salads.
Filling stations

Convenience stores located within many petrol/gas stations sell pre-packaged sandwiches, doughnuts, and hot food. Many gas stations in the United States and Europe also sell frozen foods, and have microwave ovens on the premises in which to prepare them. Petrol Stations in Australia sell foods such as hot pies, sandwiches, and chocolate bars, which are easy for a customer to access while on their journey. Petrol stations are a place that are often open long hours and are open before and after shop trading hours, therefore, it makes it easy to access for consumers.
Street vendors and concessions
Main article: Street food
Street vendor serving fast food in Nepal
Fastfood restaurant in Eastern Europe: The Pajdaš (in Prekmurje dialect Buddy), Murska Sobota Slovenia.

Traditional street food is available around the world, usually through small and independent vendors operating from a cart, table, portable grill or motor vehicle. Common examples include Vietnamese rice soup vendors, Middle Eastern falafel stands, New York City hot dog carts, and taco trucks. Turo-Turo vendors (Tagalog for point point) are a feature of Philippine life. Commonly, street vendors provide a colorful and varying range of options designed to captivate passers-by and attract as much attention as possible quickly.

Multiple street vendors may specialize in specific types of food; typically, they are characteristic of a given cultural or ethnic tradition depending on the locale. In some cultures, it is typical for street vendors to call out prices, sing or chant sales-pitches, play music, or engage in other forms of "street theatrics" to engage prospective customers. In some cases, this can garner more attention than the food.[citation needed]
Cuisine
Fastfood in Ilorin, Kwara

Modern commercial fast food is often highly processed and prepared in an industrial fashion, i.e., on a large scale with standard ingredients and standardized cooking and production methods.[33] It is usually rapidly served in cartons or bags or in plastic wrapping, in a fashion that minimizes cost. In most fast food operations, menu items are generally made from processed ingredients prepared at a central supply facility and then shipped to individual outlets where they are reheated, cooked (usually by microwave or deep frying) or assembled in a short amount of time. This process ensures a consistent level of product quality. It is key to being able to deliver the order quickly to the customer and eliminate labor and equipment costs in the individual stores.

Because of commercial emphasis on quickness, uniformity and low cost, fast food products are often made with ingredients formulated to achieve a certain flavor or consistency and to preserve freshness.
Variants
Many types of sushi ready to eat

Chinese takeaways/takeout restaurants are particularly popular in Western countries such as the US and UK. They normally offer a wide variety of Asian food (not always Chinese), which has normally been fried. Most options are some form of noodles, rice, or meat. In some cases, the food is presented as a smörgåsbord, sometimes self service. The customer chooses the size of the container they wish to buy, and then is free to fill it with their choice of food. It is common to combine several options in one container, and some outlets charge by weight rather than by item. In large cities, these restaurants may offer free delivery for purchases over a minimum amount.
Lamb shish kebab

Sushi has seen rapidly rising popularity recently in the Western world. A form of fast food created in Japan (where bentō is the Japanese variety of fast food), sushi is normally cold sticky rice flavored with a sweet rice vinegar and served with some topping (often fish), or, as in the most popular kind in the West, rolled in nori (dried green laver) with filling. The filling often includes fish, seafood, chicken or cucumber.
A fast-food kiosk in Yambol, Bulgaria

Pizza is a common fast food category in the United States, with nationwide chains including Papa John's, Domino's Pizza, Sbarro and Pizza Hut. It trails only the burger industry in supplying children's fast food calories.[34] Menus are more limited and standardized than in traditional pizzerias, and pizza delivery is offered.

Kebab houses are a form of fast food restaurant from the Middle East, especially Turkey and Lebanon. Meat is shaven from a rotisserie, and is served on a warmed flatbread with salad and a choice of sauce and dressing. These doner kebabs or shawarmas are distinct from shish kebabs served on sticks. Kebab shops are also found throughout the world, especially Europe, New Zealand and Australia but they generally are less common in the US.

Fish and chip shops are a form of fast food popular in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Fish is battered and then deep fried, and served with deep-fried potato strips.[35]
A box of five chicken wings, served at a Hesburger fast food restaurant in Helsinki, Finland

The Dutch have their own types of fast food. A Dutch fast food meal often consists of a portion of french fries (called friet or patat) with a sauce and a meat product. The most common sauce to accompany french fries is fritessaus. It is a sweet, vinegary and low fat mayonnaise substitute, that the Dutch nevertheless still call "mayonnaise". When ordering it is very often abbreviated to met (literally "with"). Other popular sauces are ketchup or spiced ketchup ("curry"), Indonesian style peanut sauce ("satésaus" or "pindasaus") or piccalilli. Sometimes the fries are served with combinations of sauces, most famously speciaal (special): mayonnaise, with (spiced) ketchup and chopped onions; and oorlog (literally "war"): mayonnaise and peanut sauce (sometimes also with ketchup and chopped onions). The meat product is usually a deep fried snack; this includes the frikandel (a deep fried skinless minced meat sausage), and the kroket (deep fried meat ragout covered in breadcrumbs).
Fast-food place in Portugal
A small restaurant with pasztecik szczeciński in Szczecin, Poland

In Portugal, there are some varieties of local fast-food and restaurants specialized in this type of local cuisine. Some of the most popular foods include frango assado (Piri-piri grilled chicken previously marinated), francesinha, francesinha poveira, espetada (turkey or pork meat on two sticks) and bifanas (pork cutlets in a specific sauce served as a sandwich). This type of food is also often served with french fries (called batatas fritas), some international chains started appearing specialized in some of the typical Portuguese fast food such as Nando's.

An example of a local form of fast food in Poland is pasztecik szczeciński, a deep-fried yeast dough stuffed with meat or vegetarian filling, typical fast food dish of the city of Szczecin well known in many other cities in the country. A dish is on Polish List of traditional products. The first bar serving pasztecik szczeciński, Bar "Pasztecik" founded in 1969, is located on Wojska Polskiego Avenue 46 in Szczecin.

A fixture of East Asian cities is the noodle shop. Flatbread and falafel are today ubiquitous in the Middle East. Popular Indian fast food dishes include vada pav, panipuri and dahi vada. In the French-speaking nations of West Africa, roadside stands in and around the larger cities continue to sell—as they have done for generations—a range of ready-to-eat, char-grilled meat sticks known locally as brochettes (not to be confused with the bread snack of the same name found in Europe)
Business

In the United States, consumers spent $160 billion on fast food in 2012 (up from $6 billion in 1970).[36][37] In 2013, the US restaurant industry had total projected sales of $660.5 billion.[38] Fast food has been losing market share to fast casual dining restaurants, which offer more robust and expensive cuisines.[39] Due to this competition, fast food giants have seen dramatic drops in their sales.[40] While overall fast food sales have fallen, the number of Americans who eat in these restaurants "once a month or 'a few times a year'" has risen.[40]

In contrast to the rest of the world, American citizens spend a much smaller amount of their income on food — largely due to various government subsidies that make fast food cheap and easily accessible.[41] Calorie for calorie, foods sold in fast food restaurants, costs less and is more energy-dense, and is made mostly of products that the government subsidizes heavily: corn, soy, and beef.[42]

The Australian fast food market is valued at more than 2.7 billion GPB and is composed of 1.4 billion fast food meals. This includes meals serviced at 17,000 fast food outlets. The fast food market has experienced an average annual growth rate of 6.5 percent, which is the most rapidly growing sector of the retail food market.[43]
Advertising
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In 2012, fast food restaurants spent roughly US$4.6 billion on advertising campaigns, which represented an 8% increase from 2009. In the same period of time, McDonald's spent nearly three times as much on advertising as all water, milk, and produce advertisers spent combined.[44]

A study done by researchers from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College saw results that suggest that when children watch more commercial television (and see more advertisements on fast food), they are more inclined to ask to visit these subsequent fast food restaurants.[45] Specifically, fast food restaurants have been increasing their advertising efforts that target Black and Hispanic youth.[46] A 2021 report from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity indicated that fast-food restaurants spent about $318 million on Spanish-language TV channels. The same report found that fast-food restaurants spent about $99 million on majority Black viewer TV channels. Black youth groups viewed fast-food advertisements about more than white youth groups.[47]

The Council of Better Business Bureaus started the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative in 2006 which asked fast food companies to pledge to "advertise only more healthful products to children" with McDonald's and Burger King signing on.[45] However, despite a slight increase in healthful food advertising, the effectiveness of this initiative has been disputed by studies that reveal that "children couldn't remember or identify healthful foods in the ads, and that 81 percent of the 99 3 to 7 year olds in that study recalled French fries" even though there were no french fries in the advertisement." (wikipedia.org)

"Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products.[3] The company had editorial offices in New York City and Los Angeles, California. Western Publishing became Golden Books Family Entertainment in 1996. As of 2013, Little Golden Books remains as an imprint of Penguin Random House.
History
   
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Early years

Edward Henry Wadewitz, the 30-year-old son of German immigrants, worked at the West Side Printing Company in Racine, Wisconsin. When the owner of that company was unable to pay Wadewitz his wages, Wadewitz took the opportunity in 1907 to purchase the company[4] for $2,504,[1] with some of the funds provided by his brother Albert. Knowing that the company needed staff with more knowledge of the business than he had, Wadewitz hired Roy A. Spencer, a printer at the Racine Journal Company.[1]

At the end of its first year sales were $5,000 and the company increased its staff of four to handle a growing number of commercial jobs. It installed a cylinder press, two smaller presses, and an automatic power cutter.[5] In 1910, the company changed its name to Western Printing and Lithographing Company after the purchase of its first lithographic press.[1] By 1914, sales were more than $127,000. The company installed a larger offset press and added electrotyping and engraving departments.[5] Wadewitz was approached by the Hamming-Whitman Publishing Company of Chicago to print its line of children's books. Unable to pay its bills, Hamming-Whitman left Western with thousands of books. As a result, Western acquired Hamming-Whitman on February 9, 1916, and formed a subsidiary corporation, Whitman Publishing Company. It employed two salesmen and, in the first year, grossed more than $43,500 liquidating the remaining Hamming-Whitman books.[1] In 1916, Sam Lowe joined Western. He convinced Western and Whitman to publish a 10-cent children's book in 1918 and convinced retailers that children's books could be sold year-round.[1]
1920s

Western introduced boxed games and jigsaw puzzles in 1923 after purchasing a 38-inch by 52-inch Potter offset press.[1] By 1925, sales exceeded $1 million. Western added another subsidiary, the Western Playing Card Company[5] after purchasing the Sheffer Playing Card Company.[1] In 1929, Western purchased a Chicago stationery and greeting card manufacturer, Stationer's Engraving Company.[1] Another subsidiary was K.K. Publications, named after Kay Kamen, manager of character merchandising at Walt Disney Studios from 1933 to 1949.[6] K.K. Publications became defunct during the mid/late 1960s.[citation needed]
1930s

During the Great Depression between 1929 and 1933, Western introduced new products: The Whitman jigsaw puzzle became very popular during this period as did a new series of books called Big Little Books. Brought out in 1932, the 10-cent Big Little Books became very popular with people looking for inexpensive entertainment. The first Big Little Book was The Adventures of Dick Tracy.[1] Western won exclusive book rights to all Walt Disney licensed characters in 1933, and in 1934 established an eastern printing plant at the former Fiat factory site in Poughkeepsie, New York.[5]

The printing plant allowed a close relationship to develop with the publishers Dell Publishing Company and Simon & Schuster, Inc. From 1938 to 1962 Dell Publishing and Western produced color comic books featuring many of Western's licensed characters. In 1938, the first joint effort between Western and Simon & Schuster, A Children's History, was published.[5] In the 1930s, Western formed the Artists and Writers Guild Inc., located in New York City, to develop new children's books. Western expanded to the West Coast in the early 1940s, opening an office in Beverly Hills to make it easier to do business with studios that owned the characters the company licensed.[1]
1940s

Georges Duplaix replaced Sam Lowe as head of the Artists and Writers Guild in 1940 when Lowe left the company. Dick Simon, then head of Simon & Schuster, mentioned to Duplaix that he was interested in any new ideas for children's books.[7] Duplaix had the idea to produce a colorful, more durable and affordable children's book than those being published at that time which sold for $2 to $3. With the help of Lucile Ogle, also working at the Guild, Duplaix contacted Albert Leventhal, a vice president and sales manager at Simon & Schuster, and Leon Shimkin, also at Simon & Schuster, with his idea. The group decided to publish twelve titles for simultaneous release in what was to be called the Little Golden Books Series. Each book would have forty-two pages, twenty-eight printed in two-color, and fourteen in four-color. The books would be staple-bound. The group originally discussed a 50-cent price for the books, but Western did not want to compete with other 50-cent books already on the market. The group calculated that if the print run for each title was 50,000 copies instead of 25,000, the books could be sold for 25 cents each. In September 1942, the first 12 titles were printed and released to stores in October.[1] Three editions totaling 1.5 million books sold out within five months of publication in 1942.[7]

During World War II, Western had a contract with the U.S. Army Map Service to produce maps for soldiers in the field and it also manufactured books and playing cards which were sent overseas.[1] In 1945, Western acquired another major printing plant, Wolff Printing Company of St. Louis.[5]
1950s

Guild Press, Inc., a publisher of Catholic books, religious greeting cards, and gift wrap, was purchased in the early 1950s. In 1955, a new specialty printing plant was built in Hannibal, Missouri. Western achieved sales of $63 million in 1957, the year of its 50th anniversary. In the same year the company acquired Kable Printing Company, a large rotogravure magazine printer.[5]

With partners Dell and Simon & Schuster, the company sponsored the Story Book Shop on Main Street, U.S.A., in Disneyland which opened on July 17, 1955, and closed April 1, 1995.[8] In addition it was one of the initial investors in the park by virtue of being a part-owner of Disneyland, Inc.[9]

Western and Pocket Books, Inc. formed Golden Press, Inc. at the end of 1958 following their joint purchase of all Golden Book properties from Simon and Schuster. The arrangement called for Western to continue to create and manufacture Golden Books which Pocket Books would promote, sell, and distribute. By 1959, over 150 Little Golden Book titles had sold at least a million copies, and more than 400 of the 1,000-plus Golden Book titles were in print in thirteen languages.[5]
1960s

The 16-volume Golden Book Encyclopedia, published in 1960, enjoyed sales of 60 million copies in two years, while sales of Golden Press books reached almost $39 million in 1960.[5] In the same year, the name Western Publishing Company was adopted and common stock was issued with some eighty percent owned by management or employees. At this point Western had the distinction of being the largest creator and publisher of children's books, the largest producer/distributor of children's games made from paper or paper products, and the largest creator/producer of comic books. Western had operated at a profit every year since 1907, paid a dividend every year since 1934, and seen net sales increase from $40.5 million in 1950 to $123.8 million in 1960. During the same period, net profit had increased from $3.1 million to $7.4 million.[5] In 1961, Western opened another printing plant, in Cambridge, Maryland, and in 1970 acquired several companies, including Odyssey Press, a high school and college textbook publisher.[5]

By 1963, 65 percent of Western's total revenues derived from juvenile literature (including games), 25 percent from commercial printing, and 10 percent from books produced for other publishers and miscellaneous activities. Whitman accounted for 35 percent of the company's revenue. The company's half-share in Golden Press, Inc. was a problem. It lost money in 1961 and 1962, and, in 1963, its sales sagged from $32.9 million the previous year to $22.5 million. Western bought Pocket Books' half-share in Golden Press in 1964 with 276,750 shares of its common stock valued at nearly $7.4 million. Odyssey took over the sales and distribution of adult Golden Books; Western did the same for children's titles.[5]

Western Printing & Lithographing, the largest company unit, accounted for about 40 percent of sales in 1965. Artists & Writers Press, Inc., one of fourteen active subsidiaries, created books for publishers and commercial customers including Golden Books, Betty Crocker cookbooks, the Arts of Mankind series for Golden Press, and the four-volume Harper Encyclopedia of Science for Harper & Row. Capitol Publishing, purchased in 1961, originated and produced educational materials and games for children, as well as toys and novelty products. The Kable Printing division produced over 125,000 monthly magazines, other periodicals, and catalogs. The Watkins-Strathmore Co., acquired in 1957, produced children's books and games, including Magic Slate. Meanwhile, Whitman published nearly every type of juvenile and adolescent books, numismatic books, coin cards, a wide variety of games, playing cards, crayons, and gift wrap. Western also had a Canadian subsidiary (established in 1959) and a French company (established in 1960).[5]

In 1967, the Justice Department charged Golden Press and seventeen other publishers with illegally fixing prices of library editions of children's books. Each agreed to the terms of a consent judgment forbidding them from submitting rigged bids or conspiring with wholesalers to fix prices of sales to schools, libraries, or government agencies. Western purchased Skil-Craft Playthings, Inc., a leader in craft kits and a manufacturer of laboratory science sets for children based in Chicago, for 100,000 shares of common stock in 1968.[5]
1970s

In 1970, Western's sales reached $171.5 million but net profit fell to $3.9 million caused by the acquisition of a computerized typesetting facility and an eleven-week strike. As a result, the Hannibal plant was closed and the number of employees was reduced by 1,500 in mid-1974. Profits rose that year to $10.1 million; sales topped $215 million. In 1971, Western entered into an agreement with the Children's Television Workshop to produce Golden Books featuring the Muppets of Sesame Street. In 1974, Dell Publishing Company signed a ten-year printing contract with Western worth more than $50 million. That same year construction began on a distribution and game-and-puzzle assembly center in Fayetteville, North Carolina.[5]

Direct marketing accounted for twenty-five percent of Western's consumer product sales by 1976. This represented seventy percent of total sales. Driven by products such as the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Program, a monthly mailing of recipe cards to millions of customers, sales grew to $237.3 million in 1976 with net income of $10.8 million. In 1979, Western ceased to be an independent company when Mattel Inc. purchased the company[10]: 202  for $120.8 million in a cash/stock deal.[5]

By the late 1970s, Western was one of the largest commercial printers in the United States.[citation needed] It had four manufacturing plants and two distribution centers between Kansas and Maryland. It boasted of installing some of the first heatset web offset printing presses in the US.[citation needed] As well, Western had the largest offset, sheet-fed presses, some exceeding 78 inches wide, printing in five colors, and one of the largest bindery operations in the United States.[citation needed] Among other things, it printed mass-market paperback books under contract, and was the primary manufacturer and distributor of the board game Trivial Pursuit, as well as other tabletop games.[citation needed] It developed and printed specialty cookbooks, premiums, and material for many Fortune 500 clients. At one time, Western printed almost everything from "business cards to billboards", and employed over 2500 full-time employees.[citation needed]
1980s

1980 saw the launch of the Sesame Street Book Club and the relocation of the Skil-Craft manufacturing plant from Chicago to Fayetteville. Sales climbed to $278 million in 1981.[5] Mattel's investment in Western soon soured. In fiscal 1983 (ending January 31, 1983) Western had sales of $246 million with an operating loss of $2.4 million after a $7.5 million charge relating to closing the Poughkeepsie printing plant. Mattel had its own financial issues and, strapped for cash, sold Western in December 1983 to Richard A. Bernstein, a New York City real estate investor, for $75 million plus the assumption of certain liabilities later thought to be $40 million. Bernstein reincorporated the firm as the Western Publishing Group; Western Publishing Co., now a subsidiary, continued to be based in Racine.[5][10]: 204 

Bernstein oversaw the introduction of eight videocassettes that featured Golden Books characters in 1985. A total of 2.5 million were shipped. Western developed and produced games under license for Tonka and Hasbro, and developed storybooks containing company logos as promotional items; Bernstein referred to this as "sponsored publishing". In 1986, Penn Corporation, which produced party paper and advertising specialities, was purchased for $108 million.[5]

Bernstein took Western public in April 1986 and made more than $70 million on his original $5 million investment; he retained twenty-one percent of the stock. The company continued to prosper. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 1989, sales were $551 million produced earnings of nearly $30 million.[5]
1990s

In 1990, sales dropped to $508 million and earnings fell to $23 million. Analysts attributed some of this decline to falling sales of Pictionary, a popular Western board game introduced in 1985. Sales fell from $118 million to $42 million. In fiscal 1991 (ending January 31, 1991) sales had declined to $491 million with earnings of only $8 million. By late 1991, Western's share price had dropped to $9 from a high of $28.[5]

In 1992, Western celebrated the 50th anniversary of the introduction of Little Golden Books publishing a boxed set of the twelve original titles for $19.95. Special editions of all-time favorites, and new books by popular artists and illustrators of children's books were also published to mark the occasion. The Golden Little Nugget Book line was introduced and sold more than 1.9 million units in six months. Golden management decided to publish trade books for children for the first time in 1993. These titles were published under the imprint Artists and Writers Guild Books and sold in general book and toy stores.[5]

Western's net sales recovered in fiscal 1992 to $552.4 million with net income of $13.7 million, and $649.1 million with $17.5 million net income in 1993. In 1993, Western decided to close the advertising specialty division and took a $21.8 million writedown. A further $10 million was spent setting up and running bookstores in Toys "R" Us stores; the company decided ultimately to run the departments itself. Bernstein wanted to sell Western's products in discount stores and supermarket and drugstore chains and spent $20 million to do so. The school book club, started in 1990, also lost money. The net effect was a $55.8 million loss on sales of $613.5 million for fiscal 1994 (ending January 1994).[5]

Three Golden Books Showcase Store locations were opened, which featured only Western Publishing products.[citation needed] The first was opened in the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, in November 1992; the second in CityWalk Center outside Universal Studios Hollywood during June 1993; and the third store was opened in Rockefeller Center in New York City during April 1994.[5] They have all since closed. By the mid-1990s, most of its printing plants were closed and its print operations consolidated in Racine.[citation needed]

These losses raised Western's debt to $250 million; its negative cash flow caused its bonds to be downgraded to junk status. Unable to sell the company, Bernstein began a major restructuring of Western. Hasbro Inc. purchased the games and puzzles division for $105 million and the Fayetteville distribution center which handled them was put up for sale. Troll purchased the school book club division for $4.3 million. Ritepoint and Adtrend, parts of Penn Corporation's advertising specialty division, were sold as was its direct-marketing continuity-club business. Staff was reduced by 28 percent. Bernstein continued the concept of developing book sections within stores and introduced 100 Just For Kids sections in Walmart locations which sold video and music along with books.[5]

Western lost $11.6 million on revenues of $303.9 million during the first three quarters of 1994. Its common stock, which had traded as high as $21 a share in 1993, had fallen to below $10 in April 1995. No dividend had been paid since the company had been acquired by Bernstein from Mattel in 1984. At this point he owned or controlled nearly 20 percent of the common stock, the Gabelli Group held about 17 percent, and Prudential Insurance Company of America owned 8.6 percent. Long-term debt was $249.8 million.[5]

By mid-1996, under the supervision of ex-Simon & Schuster executive Richard E. Snyder, it was renamed Golden Books Family Entertainment[10]: 213–214  and focused on publishing children's books. Bernstein resigned all his positions at the company but retained his stock.[11] It sold the adult books (Golden Guide) to St. Martin's Press in 1999.[12]
2000s

In June 2001, DIC Entertainment announced they would purchase Golden Books Family Entertainment for $170 Million and send them out of bankruptcy.[13] However, DIC would pass off the purchase due to high costs[14] and instead Golden Books Family Entertainment was eventually acquired jointly by Classic Media, owner of the catalog of United Productions of America (UPA) and book publisher Random House in a bankruptcy auction for the $84.4 million on August 16, 2001.[15][16] In turn, Random House, and Classic Media gained ownership of Golden Books' entertainment catalog (including the family entertainment catalog of Broadway Video which includes the pre-1974 library of Rankin/Bass Productions and the library of Total Television) as well as production, licensing and merchandising rights for Golden Books' characters and the Gold Key Comics and Dell Comics catalogs, while Random House gained Golden Books' book publishing properties.[2][17]

The H. E. Harris stamp and coin company bought Whitman Coin Products from St. Martin's Press in 2003 and renamed it Whitman Publishing.[18]

On July 23, 2012, Classic Media was acquired by DreamWorks Animation for $155 million and renamed DreamWorks Classics.[19] On July 1, 2013, Random House merged with the Penguin Group, forming a new company called Penguin Random House.[20] In April 2016, the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation (owner of DreamWorks Classics) by NBCUniversal was announced.[21]

Historian Michael Barrier has lamented the apparent loss of Western's business records for future use by researchers.[22]
Divisions
Comic books

With licenses for characters from Walt Disney Productions, Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Walter Lantz Studio, Western produced comics based on these characters, as well as original works. The editorial staff at the West Coast office over the years included: Eleanor Packer, Alice Cobb, Chase Craig, Zetta Devoe, Del Connell and Bill Spicer. Bernie Zuber was an editorial artist, a position similar to that of a production artist, from 1957 until 1982.[23] Oskar Lebeck, Matt Murphy and Wally Green are among those who oversaw the East Coast office.[citation needed]

From 1938 to 1962, Western's properties were published under a partnership with Dell Comics, which also handled the distribution and financing of the comic books. In 1962, Western ended this partnership and published comics itself, establishing the imprint Gold Key Comics. As Murphy explained the split:

    With regard to a Western-Dell separation, this was by mutual agreement so that each company would be free to explore the potential business in the comics market without the self-imposed restrictions which formerly required Western and Dell to work exclusively with one another. In our previous relationship, Western Publishing Co. secured the rights, created the comics, printed them and shipped them out for Dell. Dell acted as the publisher and distributor and did the billing and paid Western for its creatively manufactured products.[24]

This imprint continued until the late 1970s, after which newsstand distribution was discontinued in favor of distribution to toy stores under the "Whitman Comics" banner.[citation needed] The company stopped publishing comics in 1984, and all of its licenses have since gone to other publishers. Many of these new licensees have included among their offerings reprints of stories originally published by Western.[citation needed]

Prior to 1962, in addition to comics published through Dell, Western published some comics under its own name, particularly giveaways such as March of Comics and the annual kite safety title (which featured an array of licensed characters) published over a span of 32 years for power utility companies.[25] Both series had print runs in the hundreds of thousands.[26]

In the 1990s, the Western/Gold Key characters Magnus, Turok and Dr. Solar were licensed to Valiant Comics, who published modified versions of the characters to great success.[27] However, by the mid-1990s, Valiant's sales had slumped due to the decade's speculative boom collapsing, and the company ceased publishing in 1999.[citation needed]

In 2004, Dark Horse Comics began reprinting some of Western's original comic book properties, which by then were owned by Random House, along with Tarzan from the Jesse Marsh era.[citation needed] In 2009, the company announced plans to launch new versions of various Gold Key characters, with former Valiant editor-in-chief Jim Shooter as head writer.[28]
Children's books
Uncle Don's Strange Adventures, a 1936 Big Little Book, featured a story about radio host Uncle Don and his adventures with a mystery cruiser.

Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, Western published a wide range of children's books (puzzle books, coloring books, Tell-a-Tale books, Big Little Books), mostly under the Golden Books and Whitman Publishing brand names. The Little Golden Books was a very popular series. Lucille Ogle helped develop the format for these low-priced books, which told simple stories and were among the first children's books with full-color illustrations. The first was published in 1942.[29] Beginning as the "Whitman Famous Classics", and later renamed the "Golden Press" imprint, Western published a series of (public domain) classics, such as Little Women, Little Men, Black Beauty and Heidi.

In the late 1960s, Golden Books were bound in the Goldencraft reinforced library bindings and sold to schools and libraries in the United States by a group of independent sales representatives. The library bound books were very popular with the schools and libraries.[citation needed] Offices were set up in Wayne, New Jersey, and the reinforced library books were warehoused in Wayne and distributed from that location. There were about 80 sales representatives in the United States under the general manager, Roy Spahr.[citation needed]
Older children's literature

From the 1940s to the 1980s, Western published several series of books for older children and young teenagers, initially under its Whitman line. Girls' mystery series included Trixie Belden, Ginny Gordon, Donna Parker, Meg Duncan and Trudy Phillips. Boys' series included the Walton Boys, Power Boys, Brains Benton, and Troy Nesbit mysteries. The series, published from the 1950s to the 1970s, also included a number of titles licensed from popular movies and television shows: Lassie, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, many television Westerns, and Walt Disney's Spin and Marty and Annette (from the serial featuring Annette Funicello that aired on The Mickey Mouse Club. The company was also the original American publisher of The Adventures of Tintin, issuing six titles in English translation in 1959 and 1960, before discontinuing further releases because of what were considered disappointing sales.[30]
Magazines

In 1937, Western, at the request of Kay Kamen (who oversaw licensing and marketing at Disney), assumed production of the newsstand version of Mickey Mouse Magazine,[31] which, in October 1940, was succeeded by the comic book Walt Disney's Comics and Stories.[32] 1936-1954 Story Parade, Inc. (a Western subsidiary) published Story Parade: A Magazine for Boys and Girls with a children's literature orientation. Then in late 1955, Western initiated Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Club Magazine with content produced by Disney Studio staff members. It was intended to promote The Mickey Mouse Club television series. Eventually the name was changed to Walt Disney's Magazine and the focus shifted to contemporary Disney movie and television productions.[33] In a similar vein, they printed Gulf Oil's Wonderful World of Disney premium (1969-1970) which was edited by Disney's George Sherman.[34]: p.48–49  During the 1960s, Western published The Golden Magazine for Boys and Girls with Cracky the Parrot as its mascot.
Miscellaneous

For many years Golden Press was publisher of Betty Crocker cookbooks. Often these were issued in a three-ring binder format so recipe pages could be removed for easy consultation while cooking. Western produced games such as Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary until Hasbro bought that division in 1994.[35] The company published the children's science books The World of Science[36] and The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments,[37] while the Golden Guide nature guides were published with the Golden Press name.[12]
Slogans and taglines

    I grew up with Golden Books! (1980s)[38]
    Silence isn't Golden. Reading to your child is. (1997)[citation needed]

Trademarks
   
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Western Publishing Company Inc. owned dozens of trademarks over the years, many of which have now expired.[39] A sampling of Western's trademarks follows. Some like "Golden" for example were registered multiple times for different uses (separated by "/"). Refer to the website cited for a complete listing of all trademarks.[citation needed]

    FIRST FUN - Children's Workbooks
    MIRROR MANIA - Equipment Sold as a Unit for Playing a Board Game
    A GOLDEN BLOCK BOOK - Children's Miniature Books
    POP-UP GAME - Equipment Sold as a Unit for Playing a Board Type Parlor Game
    V.I.P. - Jigsaw Puzzles
    IMAGE - Coloring Books / Juvenile Books / Jigsaw Puzzles / Children's Books / Pre-recorded Audio Tape Cassettes
    GOLDEN - Coloring Books / Retail Mail-Order Services in the Field of Housewares, Giftwares, and Personal Care Products / Jigsaw Puzzles / Crayons / Equipment Sold As Units For the Purpose of Playing Board or Parlor Games / Juvenile Books-Namely, Storybooks, Picture Books, Preschool and School Activity Books, Coloring Books and Painting Books...
    GOLDEN PRESS SHOPPER'S SERVICE - Retail Mail Order Services in the Field of Books
    DRIVE AWAY - Children's Books
    SPONSORED PUBLISHING - Advertising, Marketing, and Publishing Services Offered to Clients for the Purpose of Enabling Such Clients to Promote the...
    SP - Promoting the Goods and Services of Others by Producing and Distributing Specialty Products
    PICTURE PARADE - Illustrated Books for Children
    DOODLE BUG - Children's Books
    PAINT WITH WATER - Children's Paint Books
    A GOLDEN MELODY BOOK - Children's Books which Emit an Electronically Produced Melody
    GOLDEN MELODY - Children's Books which Emit an Electronically Produced Melody
    KING'S COURT - Equipment Sold as a Unit for Playing a Card Game
    PRETTY AS A PICTURE - Equipment Sold in Units for the Purpose of Playing a Board- or Parlor-Type Game
    GOLDEN STEP AHEAD - Educational, Color-Illustrated Workbooks Intended to Be Used by Children of Preschool and Elementary School Age in the Classroom.../ Children's Educational Workbooks Intended for Use in School or Home / Pre-Recorded Audio Tape Cassettes Packaged in Combination with Children's Workbooks and Sold as Units in the Form of Combination...
    IT ACTUALLY PLAYS MUSIC – Children's Books Which Emit an Electronically Produced Melody
    STEP AHEAD - Children's Printed Educational Flash Cards
    MAGIC SLATE - Toy and Amusement Apparatus for Temporarily Receiving Written Impressions
    GOLDEN MINIATURE - Jigsaw Puzzles
    WHITMAN CLASSIC – Coin Folders, Namely, Hinged Books or Fold-Out Albums Intended for Storage and Display of Coins and Coin Collections
    A GOLDEN SUPER ADVENTURE BOOK – A Series of Children's Books
    A GOLDEN THINKABOUT BOOK – A Series of Children's Books" (wikipedia.org)

"American Greetings Corporation is a privately owned American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards.[2][3] Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting cards, electronic greeting cards, gift packaging, stickers and party products. In addition, the company owns the Carlton Cards, Tender Thoughts, Papyrus, Recycled Paper Greetings and Gibson brands.[4][5]

American Greetings's former toy design and licensing division, initially called Those Characters From Cleveland, subsequently renamed AG Properties and American Greetings Entertainment and now separately owned as Cloudco Entertainment. American Greetings also holds an exclusive license for Nickelodeon characters.
History
Sapirstein Greeting Card

Sapirstein Greeting Card Co. was founded in 1906 by Polish immigrant Jacob Sapirstein[4] (1885–1987), who sold cards to stores from a horse-drawn cart, American Greetings has been run by members of the family since its inception.[2] Irving Sapirstein, Jacobs's oldest son, became Jacob's first partner in 1918 at age nine. Irving's brother Morris started working at the card company in 1926. Morris and Irving in 1928 got a post card contract worth $24,000. The company started using self-serve display cabinets for its greeting cards in 1929 further cementing its position in the market. Sapirstein Greeting began in 1932 making its own greeting cards.[6]

In 1934, the company began hiring sales representatives. Harry, the youngest son, joined the business in 1935. In 1936, the company opened its first branch office and the first major manufacturing facility.[6]
American Greetings

Sapirstein Greeting Card Co. was renamed in 1938 to American Greetings Publishers. In 1939, the firm first issued the Forget-Me-Not card line. Irving and his brothers changed their last name to Stone in the 1940s. American Greeting Publishers was incorporated in 1944. John Sands Pty. Ltd. of Sydney, Australia and the company signed a licensing agreement, the firm's first, in 1949.[6]

The company changed its name to American Greetings Corporation as the company went public in 1952, issuing 200,000 shares. The funds raised were earmarked for acquisitions and expansion. In 1956, American Greetings formed Carlton Cards, Ltd., a Canadian subsidiary. Also that year, the Hi Brows humor studio card line was launched.[6]

In July 1957, the company moved its headquarters to One American Road, Brooklyn, Ohio. In 1958, American Greetings went public.[2] Jacob Sapirstein became chairman of the board while Irving assumed the company's president post in 1960. In Forest City, North Carolina, the company build a cabinet manufacturing plant in 1960. A Mexican subsidiary in Mexico City was set up in 1969. In 1971, a retail subsidiary was formed called Summit Corporation, later called Carlton Cards Retail, Inc.[6]

Holly Hobbie premiered in 1967 as a line of greeting cards by American Greetings.[7] The character's public appeal lead to the formation of Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc. Sale the next year topped $100 million. In 1972, the company introduced Ziggy, created by Tom Wilson, which soon had a newspaper cartoon strip generating additional income. By 1977, Holly Hobbie became one of the top female licensed character in the world.[6]

Morry Weiss, Irving's son-in-law, and Irving Stone in 1978 were appointed president and chairman & CEO, respectively. Also in 1978, the corporation set up two new subsidiaries Plus Mark, Inc. and A.G. Industries, Inc. Plus Mark was formed to manufacture Christmas gift wrap, boxed cards, and accessories. A.G. Industries was a display fixture manufacturer. American Greeting had seen itself as a mass-marketer and was serving pharmacies, variety stores, discount stores, and supermarkets with low cost cards. Meanwhile, Hallmark Cards ignored the mass market outlets until 1959 with issuance of its Ambassador card line. The company then used its licensing revenue on national advertising and other efforts to gain market share from 1981 to 1985. While they had a net income increase of 613 percent over ten years, Hallmark still maintained its market share. Gibson Greetings started a price war in 1986 and ended in 1987 which had the three major greeting card companies taking a loss. With a drop in licensing revenue, American took until 1989 to recover.[6]

Those Characters From Cleveland was started up by Tom Wilson on behalf of American Greetings[8] in 1980. The first property out of Those Characters was Strawberry Shortcake, which generated in 1981 $500 million in retail sales, followed by the Care Bears with $2 billion in sales over its first two years.[6]

AG came back with a doubled net income by 1991 with 10 percent growth in sales to Hallmark's 1 percent. Weiss was promoted to CEO while Ed Fruchtenbaum was elevated as the fourth and first non-family president. Weiss had streamlined operations, cut costs, and decreased its card idea development time frame to market. Fruchtenbaum stressed information systems technology with the development of software to aid the sales force, to managers and their retailers in order to track inventories and trends. The following year, Weiss and Fruchtenbaum were promoted again to chairman/CEO and president/chief operating officer, respectively, with Irving Stone becoming founder-chairman.[6]

Custom Expressions, Inc., the CreataCard producer, was acquired in 1992, The CreataCard units had 1,000 card options and printed cards in under four minutes for $3.50 each. The company placed a few thousand units in mass-merchandise outlets in the US. By early 1994, 7,000 were installed. The kiosks generated modest profits off healthy revenue. With the Touch Screen Greetings and the Personalize It! method, Hallmark in 1992 sued AG over patent infringement with a 1995 settlement that allow both to use the technology worldwide. By 1995, the kiosks were being left behind by personal computers and the internet. The units were partially written off. American had also made deals with online services, Prodigy, CompuServe, and Microsoft Network in early 1996. Their website was redesigned to allow the cards to be designed on the website then mailed from its Cleveland fulfillment center in 1997. Two CD-ROM products, Personal CardShop for Home and Office and CreataCard Plus, were published. Both allowed for personalization. CardShop had 150 card choices and used the modem to order them to be printed and mailed by their fulfillment center. CreataCard had 3,000 predesigned greeting cards, invitations, stationery, and announcements, and three methods of fulfillment: print on home printer, by e-mail or via the company's center.[6]

In the mid-1990s, American Greetings expanded its operations with acquisitions or starting up of new lines of business, and starting in 1996, the promotion of sideline product categories to semi-autonomous units. A reading glasses manufacturer, Magnivision, was purchased in 1993. In 1996, the party goods line was relaunched under the DesignWare name. Also in 1996, American Greetings entered discussions with BEC Group Inc. to acquire Foster Grant Group, a sunglasses manufacturer, but declined to pursue the purchase. A candle line was relaunched in 1997 under the name GuildHouse. A supplemental educational products subsidiary, Learning Horizons, Inc., was set up in March 1997. However, in August 1997, American Greetings sold two subsidiaries, Acme Frame Products, Inc. and Wilhold Inc., producer of hair accessory products, to Newell Brands. Contempo Colours, a party goods company in Michigan with licenses included Monopoly and Sesame Street, was bought in August 1999 to add to DesignWare.[6]

In Canada, the Forget-Me-Not brand was launched in 1993. In July 1997, American Greetings launched its "The All New American Way" marketing strategy that consisted of massive revamping of its everyday card lines over the next year and a half to meet nine American cultural trends.[6]

In the 1990s, American Greetings pushed more into international markets. Acquisition occurred in 1995 with a purchase of 80% share of S.A. Greetings Corporation in South Africa and in 1996 with the purchase of John Sands, the top greeting card company in both Australia and New Zealand. In 1998, Camden Graphics Group and Hanson White Ltd. were purchased to add to its UK operations. While in 1999, a majority stake in Memory Lane Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian greeting card company, bring American to Asia for the first time.[6]

American Greetings made a bid for Gibson Greetings, the third top card maker in the US, in March 1996, which was rejected.[6] In 1999, the company agreed to buy rival Gibson Greetings and united the second and third largest U.S. greeting card makers.[9] Through the Gibson purchase, American gained its strong UK unit and a 27% stake in Egreetings Network Inc.[6]

In 1998, the company shares moved from trading on the NASDAQ to the New York Stock Exchange. AmericanGreetings.com, Inc., while not turning a profit, was announced in June 1999 to be taken public, but was withdrew due to the early 2000 tech stock collapse.[6]

In March 1999, Hallmark started a price war with the introduction of a 99-cent card line forcing American to do the same. In 1999, the implementation of a new inventory system slowed shipments to retailers. However, this reduced sales by $100 million, a 1.5% decrease, ending a 93rd consecutive year of increasing revenue.[6]

Fruchtenbaum was terminated in June 2000 for insider trading policy violation after the board learned that he purchased stock via options, then sold them in December 1998 before the announcement of the new inventory system implementation's expected loss. Board member James C. Spira was then appointed vice-chairman.[6]

In November 2000, Spira was appointed to oversee a massive overhaul. The company cut 1,500 jobs, closed six manufacturing and distribution centers, discontinued Forget-Me-Not, one of its four main U.S. card brands, and cut the offered greeting cards to 10,000 from 15,000. The firm also shifted to recognizing sales at the retailer's register, not when it was stocked on the retailer's shelves in order to better control inventory. This cost them $300 million, and was highly unprofitable in the 2001 and 2002 fiscal years.[6]

In its online sector in 2001, American Greeting purchase the Egreetings Network shares that Gibson did not already own.[6] In January 2002, the company purchased Blue Mountain Arts (BlueMountain.com) from Excite@Home with Excite to buy ads on American Greeting websites and Blue Mountain would continue providing ecards for Excite.[10] The company thus had four online greeting cards website including BeatGreets.com, a musical greetings website.[6] While the online operations expected to become profitable by the fourth quarter 2002,[10] the division had a lower loss than in the prior year.[6]

In 2003, Morry Weiss's sons, Zev and Jeffrey, became CEO and President respectively; Morry Weiss remained Chairman. American Greetings had also branched out onto the internet and owned a network of websites. October 25, 2007, American announced the purchase of Webshots from CNET for $45 million in cash.[11]

In July 2004, American Greetings sold MagniVision to an affiliate of Foster Grant sunglasses manufacturer.[12] In October 2005, American Greetings recalled its Sesame Street toy sunglasses sold from December 2003 through August 2005, because the lenses can separate from the frames, posing a choking hazard to young children.[13]

American Greetings on February 24, 2009 purchased Recycled Paper Greetings. In two cash deals with Schurman Fine Papers on April 17, 2009, the company sold its remaining 341 stores to them, and in the second deal bought Schurman's wholesale division, Papyrus brand cards and paper products, and a 15% equity stake in Schurman.[14]

In April 2010, the company closed its DesignWare plant in Kalamazoo as the company moved to Amscan for manufacturing their party goods. American Greetings received $25 million and a warrant for 2 percent of common stock in AAH Holdings, Amscan's parent corporation, while Amscan received inventory, equipment and processes.[15] In Mexico, the company moved strategically to a third party distributor model and closed its warehouse there.[16]

In 2010, American Greetings announced plans to move its headquarters from Brooklyn, Ohio to a new facility at Crocker Park within the nearby city of Westlake.[17] However, in 2013, the company announced it would delay moving its operations to Westlake. Construction had been scheduled to start in early 2013, and American Greetings said it was only delaying the $150 to $200 million project.[citation needed] In 2014, American Greetings sold its Brooklyn, Ohio headquarters to developers and began renting its current offices from the new owners until the move to Westlake.[18] American Greetings opened their new Westlake headquarters in September 2016.[1] The company leases the building from the Wiess family until August 2031.[4]

American Greetings forced Clinton Cards PLC in May 2012 into administration.[19] In June , American Greetings acquired assets from Clinton Cards together with some of its subsidiaries including UK Greetings. UK Greetings' card brands at the time were Camden Graphics, Hanson White, Forget Me Not and Xpressions. Clinton operated stores under the Clinton and Birthdays brands.[20] American Greetings brought in Dominique Schurman, CEO of Schurman Retail Group, to lead Clinton.[19]
Private corporation

American Greetings went private once again in mid-2013, thus removing itself from all the public markets, agreeing to pay $18.20 per share, valuing the company at $878 million. The Weiss family-owned Century Intermediate Holding Co. purchased the public shares.[2]

In 2018, the Weiss family sold a 60% majority stake of the company to the investment firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).[4] The Weiss Family would continue to operate as directors and shareholders of American Greetings[4] as well as retain ownership of American Greetings Entertainment, which was spun off as Cloudco Entertainment.[21] UK Greetings continued with American Greetings under CD&R while the Clintons retail chain in the UK remained with the Weiss family.[22] On closing of the deal, David Scheible was named Chairman in place of Morry Weiss and President John Beeder was promoted to CEO (the former chairman and co-CEOs remaining on the board).[4] In January 2019, the Weiss family placed AG's headquarters up for sale.[4]

Scheible had been replaced by John Compton as chairman. On March 1, 2019, the retiring CEO Beeder was replaced by Joe Arcuri.[23] Partially owned Schurman Retail Group announced in January 2020 that it would close all of its stores and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, including its American Greetings locations.[24]
Gibson Greetings

Acquired in 1999, Gibson was founded by brothers George, Robert, Samuel and Stephen in 1855 as Gibson & Company, Lithographers in Cincinnati. It eventually began making greeting cards in 1860s and 1870s, sold to brother George as Gibson Arts in 1883 and Gibson Greeting Cards Inc. in 1960.[25] After being under RCA Corporation and other owners was sold to American Greetings.
Units

American Greetings operates with four divisions:[26][16]

    North American Social Expression Products
    International Social Expression Products
    AG Interactive (Webshots was formerly part of AG Interactive)[27]
    a non-reportable operating segment, sometimes referred to as "Retail"[26]

Subsidiaries and holdings
Current

    Recycled Paper Greetings
    John Sands, Australian subsidiary
    Schurman Retail Group (15%) runs American Greeting retail stores
    UK Greetings, British subsidiary

Former

    Those Characters From Cleveland (1980–2018;[21][28] now Cloudco Entertainment)

    AmToy (1979–1988;[29][30] sold to Tyco in June 1988[30])

Cartoonists

    R. Crumb
    Peter Guren (Ask Shagg)
    Holly Hobbie
    Tom Wilson" (wikipedia.org)

"Those Characters from Cleveland, LLC, officially trading as Cloudco Entertainment and formerly AG Properties and American Greetings Entertainment, is an American company which formerly traded as American Greetings' former character brand division. Properties owned by the company include Care Bears, Holly Hobbie, Madballs, Buddy Thunderstruck, Tinpo, The Get Along Gang and Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese.
History
As Those Characters from Cleveland (1980s)

Holly Hobbie premiered in 1967 as a line of greeting cards by American Greetings.[1] Knickerbocker Toy Co. manufactured stuffed Holly Hobbie dolls from 1968 to 1983.[2] The character's public appeal led to the formation of Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc. In 1972, the company introduced Ziggy, created by Tom Wilson, which soon had a newspaper cartoon strip generating significant additional income. Universal Press later purchased the creative rights. By 1977, Holly Hobbie became one of the top female licensed characters in the world.[3]

Those Characters From Cleveland was started up by Tom Wilson on behalf of American Greetings[4] in 1981 to handle its licensing business.[5] The first property out of Those Characters was Strawberry Shortcake, which generated in 1981 $500 million in retail sales, followed by the Care Bears with $2 billion in sales over its first two years.[3] The Care Bears were announced in 1982 with M.A.D., Marketing and Design Service of the toy group of General Mills, and launched in Spring 1983 with toys with a syndicated TV special.[6]

With Topps' 1985 Garbage Pail Kids trading card series release, Ralph Shaffer, senior vice-president and creative head at From Cleveland, created the Madballs, balls with disfigured faces. AmToy, another American Greetings subsidiary, released them as toys in 1986 and reached the #4 on the toy best-seller list by September of that year.[7]

With Mattel, Those Characters From Cleveland had launched the Popples in 1986. in 1986. In 1987, Those Characters came out with four plush variants that do more than just be huggable but playable to be introduced in 1988 through three toy companies....Properties
Current

    Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese[34] (2006)
    Buddy Thunderstruck[18] (2015, co-created with Stoopid Buddy Stoodios)
    Care Bears[26] (1981)
        The Care Bear Cousins[5]
    The Get Along Gang[5] (1983)
    Holly Hobbie[26] (1967)
        Holly Hobbie & Friends (2005)
    Herself the Elf[5]
    Lady Lovely Locks[35] (1987)
    Madballs[7] (1985)
    Maryoku Yummy[11] (2001)
    Overlord and the Underwoods (2021)
    Packages from Planet X[12] (2006)
    Sushi Pack[36] (2006)
    Tinpo[26] (2007)
    Twisted Whiskers[11] (2001)

Ownership Unknown

    Brush-a-Loves[8] (1987)
    FlopaLots[8] (1987)
    Nosy Bears[8] (1987)
    Peppermint Rose[35] (1990)
    Special Blessings[8] (1987)

Sold

    My Pet Monster (1986) - Sold to Saban Brands in 2012, now owned by Entertainment One/Hasbro.
    Popples (1986) - introduced with Mattel, sold to Saban Brands in 2012, now owned by Entertainment One/Hasbro.
    Jellabies (1998) - Sold off with Just Entertainment in 2004; worldwide distrubition of the series only.
    Strawberry Shortcake[15] (1980) - sold to Iconix Brand Group in 2015, now owned by WildBrain.
        The Berrykins - Strawberry Shortcake's little forest pals[5]
    Topsy and Tim (1960) - now owned by WildBrain.
    Ziggy[5] (1972) - Sold off in 2011.

Television shows
As Those Characters from Cleveland

    The Get Along Gang (1984, co-production with DIC Audiovisuel)
    Topsy and Tim (1984-89, co-production with Bevanfield Films and Video Collection International)
    Care Bears (1985, co-production with DIC Audiovisuel and LBS Communications)
    The Care Bears Family (1986–88, co-production with Nelvana)
    My Pet Monster (1986-88, co-production with Nelvana)
    Popples (1986–1988, co-production with DIC Enterprises)
    Lady Lovely Locks (1987, co-production with DIC Enterprises)
    Ring Raiders (1989, co-production with DIC Enterprises)
    Jellabies (1998-2003, co-production with Optical Image, Winchester Productions and Just Entertainment)" (wikipedia.org)

"My Pet Monster is a character that began as a plush doll first produced by American Greetings in 1986. It has horns, blue fur, a fanged smile, and wears breakaway orange plastic handcuffs.

The property was sold to Saban Brands in 2012. Then in 2018, Hasbro acquired the My Pet Monster brand from Saban Brands.[1][2]
Plush

The My Pet Monster character began as a plush doll first produced by AM Toys, a subsidiary of American Greetings, in 1986.[3] As one of the few plush dolls marketed to boys at the time,[citation needed] My Pet Monster was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The doll has blue fur, horns and a fanged smile, and is recognizable by its orange plastic handcuffs. The handcuffs could also be worn by children and came with a breakaway link so that the child could simulate breaking the chain. Several versions of the doll have been released in various sizes and other attributes. Other characters were also created with brightly colored fur and unorthodox names like Gwonk, Wogster and Rark. Their popularity allowed a wealth of merchandise including coloring books, Golden Look-Look books, frame-tray puzzles and various other items.

Toymax released a 22-inch tall talking My Pet Monster doll in 2001.[3]
Media
My Pet Monster
Developed by    Peter Sauder
Directed by    Laura Shepherd
Starring    Sunny Besen Thrasher
Stuart Stone
Jeff McGibbon
Alyson Court
Dan Hennessey
Country of origin    United States
Canada
No. of seasons    1
No. of episodes    13
Production
Running time    22 minutes per episode
Production companies    Nelvana
Those Characters From Cleveland
Telefilm Canada
Release
Original network    ABC (United States)
Global (Canada)
Picture format    NTSC
Audio format    Mono
Original release    September 12 –
December 19, 1987

The character's popularity spawned a live-action direct-to-video film in 1986 about a boy named Max who becomes the Pet Monster after being exposed to a statue, changing when hungry.[3] Dr. Snyder, the scientist who originally discovered the statues and the legend behind them, wants to kidnap him for publicity purposes, while Max's sister helps him out of the crisis. A pilot for an unproduced series, it ends on a cliffhanger as Snyder is exposed to a statue of a much larger and more menacing monster and begins to transform.

My Pet Monster also spawned a children's cartoon series that ran for one season on ABC, produced by Ellipse (France), Nelvana (Canada), and Hi-Tops Video in association with Golden Books.[4] It gives a completely different origin for the creature than the live-action film.[3] The show follows Monster, who lives with a boy named Max. When Monster wears his handcuffs, they turn him into a stuffed animal. Max often puts the handcuffs on Monster to keep his existence secret from others. Max's sister, Jill, and his friend Chuckie, are the only ones that know this secret.[5]

The two main adversaries in the show are Mr. Hinkle, a neighbor who always thinks Max is up to something, but is not quite sure what; and Beastur, a large monster who hates light and tries to bring Monster back to MonsterLand. Beastur, though immense and fierce, is incompetent. He can be stopped by the magic cuffs -— which reduce him to a smaller, though still "alive" monster -— or by his own bungling, and sent back through the warp portal to his own world. He wears dark glasses to protect his sensitive eyes, which he can use to see in the dark.

Beastur appears in nearly every episode as either a primary or secondary foe. On one occasion, he is scared back through the portal to Monsterland not by light or the cuffs, but by the affections of a smitten female gorilla. In the final episode, it is also shown that Beastur hates to be hugged, even more so than being exposed to light.

Though not a breakthrough success, the cartoon show significantly boosted sales of the already popular plush toy.[3] Much of the voice cast of My Pet Monster reunited in 1989 for Beetlejuice, another cartoon show with a surreal theme and a supernatural world populated by fantastic monsters.[3]

Reruns of all 13 half-hour episodes aired on Teletoon Retro in Canada from September 5, 2011.[6]
Characters

    "Monster" (voiced by Jeff McGibbon in TV series, portrayed by Mark Parr in special) - The Monster, Max's friend in series, as opposed to being Max in special)
    Max Smith (portrayed by Sunny Besen Thrasher) - Becomes a monster in the special, but is a separate character in TV series. When he wins the surfing competition he is referred to as Max Smith.
    Chuckie (voiced by Stuart Stone) - Max's best friend in TV series, does not appear in the special.
    Jill Smith (voiced by Alyson Court) - Max's older sister in the TV series. Monster clearly has a crush on her.
        Melanie (portrayed by Alyson Court) - Max's sister in special.
    Beastur (voiced by Dan Hennessey, briefly voiced by Jack Darley in commercial) - A giant monster in the series who pursues Monster with the intention of taking him back to Monsterland. Briefly mentioned at the end of the special as the name of one of the monsters represented by the statues.
    Mr. Hinkle (voiced by Colin Fox) - Suspicious neighbor who is aware of Monster's antics, but never actually succeeds in proving Monster exists.
    Princess (voiced by Tracey Moore) - Hinkle's dog which resembles a Standard Poodle.
    Dr. Snyder (portrayed by Colin Fox) - Mad scientist and later monster hunter in special.
    Rod (portrayed by Yannick Bisson) - Max's older brother in special, aware of Max's monster changing ability.
    Stephanie (portrayed by Kelly Rowan) - Rod's date in special.
    Hinkle's niece, Jenny
    Wolfmen (musicians)
    Leo (school bully)
    Annie (voiced by Tara Strong) - Neighbour/Jill's friend.
    Jumbo Jim (ringer)
    Mrs. Smith (portrayed by Jayne Eastwood) - Max and Jill's mother, brief role at the beginning of the special where it is revealed her first name is Julie.
    Rex Stalker (monster hunter)
    Blaine (portrayed by Hadley Kay) - Max's nemesis in Boogie Board Blues.

Episodes
Direct-to-video special (1986)
Title     Running time     Directed by:     Written by:     Release date
"My Pet Monster"    60 minutes    Timothy Bond    J.D. Smith    1986
A boy named Max (Sunny Besen Thrasher) and his sister Melanie (Alyson Court) go to a museum and see a monster-like statue that Dr. Snyder (Colin Fox) had brought back from the Middle East. After being exposed to the statue and sunlight simultaneously, Max finds himself turning into a furry blue monster whenever he gets hungry. Dr. Snyder tries to hold him captive, but Max escapes and eludes him.
Series (1987)
No.     Title     Written by     Airdate     Prod. code
1    "Goodbye Cuffs, Goodbye Monster"    Peter Sauder
J.D. Smith    September 12, 1987    001
When the dreaded Beastur gets hold of Monster's Magic Cuffs, Monster, Max and Chuckie swing into action to retrieve the cuffs before Monster is exposed and Max loses his best buddy forever.
2    "The Wolfmen Are Coming!"    Mike Silvani    September 19, 1987    002
When the hard rock group The Wolfmen hold a concert in town, Jill's costumes for her fan club members make Mr. Hinkle accidentally believe there are real wolfmen lurking in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Max's attempts to find tickets for the concert lead to Monster becoming the guest singer.
3    "Boogie Board Blues"    J.D. Smith    September 26, 1987    003
Max is psyched about the Junior Boogie Board Competition, but a snooty competitor and a bad wipeout may make him lose all hope unless his friends can help.
4    "Rock-a-bye Babysitters / Monster Cookie Mix-Up!"    J.D. Smith    October 2, 1987    004
Monster discovers the cookies that Jill has baked for a charity drive and proceeds to devour them. The gang attempts to make a new batch, which may be more disastrous than it looks.
5    "The Masked Muncher!"    J.D. Smith    October 17, 1987    005
Leo, the school bully, puts Monster's fate at stake in the upcoming pie-eating contest, so the gang enters Monster, as "The Masked Muncher", in the competition against Leo's ringer, Jumbo Jim, the "supermarket terminator."
6    "Runaway Monster"    Mike Silvani    October 24, 1987    006
It is Monster's birthday and apparently his close friends have not remembered his special day. Feeling lonely and forgotten, Monster decides to run away, not knowing they have been planning a surprise party.
7    "Finders Keepers / My Poet Monster"    Steve Wright
(Finders Keepers)
Mike Silvani
(My Poet Monster)    October 31, 1987    007
Monster stumbles onto a stash of stolen jewels and decides to keep them for himself. Soon after he takes them, the thieves, police, Max and Chuckie all set off in search of him.
8    "Escape from Monsterland!"    J.D. Smith    November 7, 1987    008
Max, Monster and the rest of the gang are trapped in Monsterland and must find a way to escape the dangerous and frightening place.
9    "Little Bigfoot"    Alan Swayze    November 14, 1987    009
Max, Monster and the gang join Mr. Hinkle on a camping trip, pursuing the legend and mystery of Bigfoot.
10    "Monster Makes the Grade!"    Peter Sauder    November 21, 1987    010
School elections are coming up, and Monster is intrigued by this process. Monster decides to pose undercover as an exchange student in order to liven up the political process.
11    "Monster Movie Mayhem! / Superhero for Hire!"    Steven Rauchman
(Monster Movie Mayhem!)
Steve Wright
(Superhero for Hire!)    December 5, 1987    011
A videotape of Monster is accidentally switched with that of a show dog, and Max and the gang journey in search of it before it is viewed and Monster's secret existence is revealed, Monster dresses up as the superhero Garbageman and he and his friends fight criminals.
12    "Gorill'a My Dreams"    J.D. Smith    December 12, 1987    012
While enjoying a trip to the zoo, Monster and the gang encounter a lonely gorilla. Beastur shows up.
13    "The Monster Hunter"    John de Klein    December 19, 1987    013
A Monster Hunter called Rex Stalker appears in search of Monster. Beastur makes one last attempt to drag him back into Monsterland, but chaos soon ensues.
Home media

    On October 28, 2008, KaBoom! Entertainment released My Pet Monster- The Complete Series, featuring all 13 episodes, on DVD exclusively in Canada.[7]
    On October 6, 2009, Trinity Home Entertainment released My Pet Monster- The Complete Series on DVD in the USA.[8]
    The live-action film was originally released on VHS. It has yet to be released on DVD, Laserdisc, Video CD, or Blu-ray." (wikipedia.org)