Zizzle was a company based in

Bannockburn, Illinois Bannockburn is a village in West Deerfield and Vernon townships in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,013. A northern suburb of Chicago, the village is generally considered part of the North Shore ...

, United States, that made many types of electronics and toys based on original concepts as well as movie licenses.Marriott, Michel. (2007-02-12
"Powered by Toys: The Story Continues"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Accessed on 2009-12-04. They are best known for a toy called "iZ".

History

The Zizzle company was founded in 2005 by Roger Shiffman, co-founder of

Tiger Electronics Tiger Electronics Ltd. (also known as Tiger and Tiger Toys) is an American toy manufacturer best known for its handheld electronic games, the Furby, the Talkboy, Giga Pets, the 2-XL robot, and audio games such as '' Brain Warp'' and the ...

, along with the marketing guru behind

Furby Furby is an American electronic robotic toy by Tiger Electronics. Originally released in 1998, it resembles a hamster or owl-like creature and went through a period of being a " must-have" toy following its holiday season launch. Over 40 mill ...

, Marc Rosenberg. Shiffman credits his wife for the name of the company. The first toy released by the company was called "iZ", and received comparisons to the Furby.Cole, Wendy. (2005-08-07
"Competition: Toyland's Savior?"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. Accessed 2009-12-02. The company received licenses to produce toys for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's ''

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with Wa ...

'' franchise, and also for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

'' and ''

Dora the Explorer ''Dora the Explorer'' is an American media franchise centered on an eponymous animated interactive fourth wall children's television series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes, and Eric Weiner, and produced by Nickelodeon Animation ...

'' cartoons.Levine, Greg. (2006-08-01
"Shiffman's Zizzle Enjoys Exclusive Disney 'Pirates' License"
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

''. Accessed on 2009-12-04. In 2006, Zizzle held a Jack Sparrow Lookalike Contest at FAO Schwartz in New York City. Zizzle’s Jack Sparrow lookalike contest was a contest held by Zizzle LLC and FAO Schwarz on June 13, 2006 from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm, where fans of the series could dress up as protagonist Captain Jack Sparrow, as well as other characters including Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, and were judged based on how accurate their costumes and personality were to that of the character, as well as asked general questions about their costume, what they think about the series, and so on. The judges for the contest included Janine DiGioacchino (General Manager of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum), Noah Robischon (Photojournalist for Entertainment Weekly), Carolina Bermudez (Z100 DJ), and most notably, Roger Shiffman (former CEO of Zizzle LLC). Ron Rodriguez had won first place in the contest, receiving a new Volvo XC90 filled with Zizzle branded Pirates of the Caribbean toys in reward for his efforts. 2nd place had been Toby Markham, who received $2500 and a bunch of Zizzle Pirates toys, and in 3rd place was Chris Leidenfros, who received $1000 and a bunch of Zizzle Pirates toys, with both the toys in 2nd and 3rd place being given to the runner-ups in their own treasure chests. Zizzle shut down in 2009.

Toys and licences

* Zizzle iZ Toy *Zoundz music mixing toy with

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...

sound selection pieces (in association with

Big Monster Toys Big Monster Toys, LLC (BMT), established in May 1988, was a United States-based toy and game inventing and licensing company. History Big Monster Toys was founded in 1988 by Jeff Breslow, Howard Morrison, and Rouben Terzian, three former partn ...

) *Disney's ''

'' 1:18 scale action figures and playsets *

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

' Zizzlingers

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://web.archive.org/20070629115338/http://www.zizzle.com/, Zizzle's official website Toy companies of the United States Companies based in Lake County, Illinois

History

Toys and licences

See also

References

External links