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When I was growing up, the popular elf was the one who made cookies. It was 1980 and the Keebler Company showed a commercial with elves in a tree. They made a variety of chocolate-covered cookies. The commercial was called, “Oh, Fudge!” and the focus was all about the amount of fudge on the cookies. The head elf, Ernie Keebler, became part of the Keebler logo and was instantly recognizable.
A glance at the Keebler website and it is clear the company is trying to keep the elfin magic alive. They have an “All about the elves” page featuring vintage photos. Additional pages include recipes and Keebler products. Turns out the tree had a name – the Hollow Tree®. Notice the trademark symbol. That’s how big the elves and tree used to be.
Now we have a newer elf phenomenon. Much less chocolate (unless your elf gets into it) and a lot more hype. We are in the age of the internet, after all, and the Elf on the Shelf is the media star every Christmas season.
Visit Elf on a Shelf’s web page and prepare to be overwhelmed. There are separate sections for kids and parents. The kids’ section has quizzes, games, apps and activities. The parents’ page is very focused on selling a wide variety of elf products (not cookies). It also has a North Pole blog and helpful tips on where to put your elf on the 125th day that you have to move it. Did you know the elf is actually a Scout Elf who has a story and a DVD? There are Elf Pets (dog and reindeer) and the best of all, a Claus Couture Collection. ALL have the trademark symbol. That’s how big this elf has become.
The elf has its own book, The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, first published in 2004. The picture book was written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter. Like a lot of children’s fairy tales, it is written in rhyme to coincide with a theme to either explain a cultural idea and/or to influence behavior. Seriously – what parent has not used the elf to encourage better behavior? “The elf is watching you and will tell Santa you haven’t been nice. You don’t want that, do you?”
The book says your Scout Elf works between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve to report dreams/wishes/behavior EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. You can get a lot of mileage out of that. But, you have to move the elf every day and that can get tricky. For creative elf placement ideas, visit the elf’s website or Twitter page (@elfontheshelf). He has 129,000 followers. I bet it doesn’t come as a shock that the Twitter page also promotes elf products (not cookies).
After Christmas night, the elf disappears, but Ernie Keebler lives on all through the year and guess what? He has a Twitter page too (@keeblerelves) with 21,000 followers and this jovial post– “Was so busy baking uncommonly good cookies and crackers that I just found out about the Twitter. Now I’m working hard to get up to date. Hashtag excited!” If that doesn’t warm your over-commercially exposed heart, nothing will. #youwillalwaysbemyfavoriteelfErnie
