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Television Memorabilia
Lot 199W
A mid-1990s Remote-Control Energizer Bunny
4 – 14 June 2024, 12:00 PDT
Online, Los AngelesUS$15,000 - US$20,000
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A mid-1990s Remote-Control Energizer Bunny
Comprising:
1. A remote-control pink and white plush synthetic fur rabbit figure over an articulated frame with wheeled feet, wearing flip-flops, sunglasses and carrying a bass drum featuring an image of an Energizer Battery on both sides while wielding drumsticks, remote control mechanisms inside frame, battery pack inside drum, 17.5 x 21 x 23 (at ears) in.
2. A pair of 1990s Futaba FP-T8SGA-P dual-stick remote control transmitters, the first labeled "ARMS" and marked in pen "Ok 9-11-96," serial #50930181 and with additional 3-switch attachment affixed to left side; the second labeled "TRAX" to front and "BUDY BOT" to verso, serial #61211292; wear consistent with usage to both. Each with its own rechargeable nickel battery system, one inscribed "Gary Bentley Special Effects Systems."
3. A collection of 18 custom costumes used by the bunny in commercial shoots, including Dr. Energizer, an angel, a basketball player, a sheik, a referee, a safari hunter, a polar explorer, and more.
4. A custom plexiglass display case measuring 27 x 20 x 30 in.
"It keeps going ... and going ... and going...."
The Energizer Bunny is one of the most recognizable advertising mascots of the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally designed in 1988 by advertising firm DDB Needham Worldwide, the bunny appeared in a spoof of rival battery maker Duracell's 1973 ad featuring battery powered toy bunnies that stopped working one by one until only the Duracell battery-powered bunny was left playing. The first ad featured an earlier version of our familiar Energizer pink bunny playing a bass drum as he crashes through Duracell's test.
In the 1990s the Eveready advertising account was taken over by Chait/Day, who ran with the idea of the interrupting bunny and created a series of faux commercials—for kid's cereal, for a Mexican restaurant (with Ted Nugent), for soap, etc.—all of which are interrupted in the final moments by the metronomic pink bunny banging his drum while the narrator intones, "It keeps going ... and going ... and going...."
DDB Needham used All Effects company to produce the first version of the bunny but Chait/Day contracted with several F/X companies, including Industrial Light and Magic, to create their bunnies over the years. The present example seems to have been built by Gary Bentley Special Effects Systems. Bentley enjoyed a long special effects career in Hollywood, working on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982); Robocop (1993) and Alien: Resurrection (1997), among others. Both the date on the ARMS transmitter (September 11, 1996) and the establishment of Bentley's company date (August 1996) this example to fall 1996. The logo on the drumhead—featuring AA battery with "Energizer" written out in upper and lower case letters--appears in the commercials as early as 1994 and seems to have been revised to include a swoop by the early 2000s.
To move, the bunny requires two remote control systems: one for the forward/backward movement and spinning, and one for the drumming arms and head. Our bunny also comes with a full wardrobe of custom costumes that can easily be put on and taken off, and two sets of operating instructions.
This particular Energizer Bunny has also had an interesting second act to his career. In 2012, he was featured on an episode of the collecting series, Final Offer. His previous owners, Andrea and Monique Arbour, purchased the bunny, his costumes and the remotes from an unnamed collector in 2003 (not long after this bunny was retired from service). One of 2-4 models in use during the period, this bunny was described by the original seller as the #1 bunny. During the show episode, the Arbours negotiated with a Los Angeles-based dealer for the bunny and its components, and an agreement was reached. This is the bunny's first appearance back on the market since 2012.
Bunny: 17 1/2 x 21 x 23 (ears extended) in.
1. A remote-control pink and white plush synthetic fur rabbit figure over an articulated frame with wheeled feet, wearing flip-flops, sunglasses and carrying a bass drum featuring an image of an Energizer Battery on both sides while wielding drumsticks, remote control mechanisms inside frame, battery pack inside drum, 17.5 x 21 x 23 (at ears) in.
2. A pair of 1990s Futaba FP-T8SGA-P dual-stick remote control transmitters, the first labeled "ARMS" and marked in pen "Ok 9-11-96," serial #50930181 and with additional 3-switch attachment affixed to left side; the second labeled "TRAX" to front and "BUDY BOT" to verso, serial #61211292; wear consistent with usage to both. Each with its own rechargeable nickel battery system, one inscribed "Gary Bentley Special Effects Systems."
3. A collection of 18 custom costumes used by the bunny in commercial shoots, including Dr. Energizer, an angel, a basketball player, a sheik, a referee, a safari hunter, a polar explorer, and more.
4. A custom plexiglass display case measuring 27 x 20 x 30 in.
"It keeps going ... and going ... and going...."
The Energizer Bunny is one of the most recognizable advertising mascots of the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally designed in 1988 by advertising firm DDB Needham Worldwide, the bunny appeared in a spoof of rival battery maker Duracell's 1973 ad featuring battery powered toy bunnies that stopped working one by one until only the Duracell battery-powered bunny was left playing. The first ad featured an earlier version of our familiar Energizer pink bunny playing a bass drum as he crashes through Duracell's test.
In the 1990s the Eveready advertising account was taken over by Chait/Day, who ran with the idea of the interrupting bunny and created a series of faux commercials—for kid's cereal, for a Mexican restaurant (with Ted Nugent), for soap, etc.—all of which are interrupted in the final moments by the metronomic pink bunny banging his drum while the narrator intones, "It keeps going ... and going ... and going...."
DDB Needham used All Effects company to produce the first version of the bunny but Chait/Day contracted with several F/X companies, including Industrial Light and Magic, to create their bunnies over the years. The present example seems to have been built by Gary Bentley Special Effects Systems. Bentley enjoyed a long special effects career in Hollywood, working on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982); Robocop (1993) and Alien: Resurrection (1997), among others. Both the date on the ARMS transmitter (September 11, 1996) and the establishment of Bentley's company date (August 1996) this example to fall 1996. The logo on the drumhead—featuring AA battery with "Energizer" written out in upper and lower case letters--appears in the commercials as early as 1994 and seems to have been revised to include a swoop by the early 2000s.
To move, the bunny requires two remote control systems: one for the forward/backward movement and spinning, and one for the drumming arms and head. Our bunny also comes with a full wardrobe of custom costumes that can easily be put on and taken off, and two sets of operating instructions.
This particular Energizer Bunny has also had an interesting second act to his career. In 2012, he was featured on an episode of the collecting series, Final Offer. His previous owners, Andrea and Monique Arbour, purchased the bunny, his costumes and the remotes from an unnamed collector in 2003 (not long after this bunny was retired from service). One of 2-4 models in use during the period, this bunny was described by the original seller as the #1 bunny. During the show episode, the Arbours negotiated with a Los Angeles-based dealer for the bunny and its components, and an agreement was reached. This is the bunny's first appearance back on the market since 2012.
Bunny: 17 1/2 x 21 x 23 (ears extended) in.
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