{"id":20593,"date":"2017-10-17T19:23:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T23:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/?p=20593"},"modified":"2026-09-29T19:25:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T23:25:02","slug":"design-evolution-geoffrey-the-giraffe-of-toysrus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/design-evolution-geoffrey-the-giraffe-of-toysrus\/20593\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Evolution: Geoffrey the Giraffe of Toys\u201cR\u201dUs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Heather Taylor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t wanna grow up! I\u2019m a Toys\u201dR\u201dUs kid!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who among us didn\u2019t know the words to that jingle when they were growing up, begged their parents to take them to the nearest Toys\u201dR\u201dUs<\/a> store, or circled dozens of toys and games that they wanted in the yearly holiday catalogs? It\u2019s a safe bet to say that all of us are Toys\u201dR\u201dUs kids, thanks to Charles P. Lazarus who founded the iconic company in June 1957.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1965, Toys\u201dR\u201dUs would receive its first brand mascot in Geoffrey the Giraffe<\/a>. The earliest version of Geoffrey was known as \u201cDr. G. Raffe\u201d and was created to represent Children\u2019s Bargain Town, Lazarus\u2019 first store that sold baby furniture and toy merchandise. The artist who designed the original Dr. G. Raffe made the Toys\u201dR\u201dUs version much more lifelike \u2014 and a store associate renamed him Geoffrey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geoffrey would appear in print ads throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, continuing to grow in popularity with kids of all ages. He made his first commercial debut in 1973 for Toys\u201dR\u201dUs appearing alongside hundreds of enthusiastic children dancing in the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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