Mr. Men's 40th anniversary

Iconic character series hits 40 years - and 120 million book sales

• Adam Hargreaves re-imagines classic characters to reflect four decades

• Celebrities line up to say Happy Birthday

The iconic Mr. Men and Little Miss character series is celebrating 40 years in 2011, with August 10th marking the official anniversary date when in 1971, Mr. Tickle first appeared on book shelves, with Mr. Bump, Little Miss Sunshine, Mr. Messy and other characters have since joined him in one of the most recognisable characters series in the world.

Roger Hargreaves originally created Mr. Tickle after his six year-old son, Adam, asked him, "Daddy what does a tickle look like?" The resulting illustration launched the world famous books, that have since been translated into 15 different languages globally.


Adam Hargreaves, now 47, commented on the 40th milestone, "It is truly incredible that something so personal to my father went on to become such a global phenomenon. If he were alive today, I think he would be ecstatic to see how popular his creations have become. My Dad managed to capture basic human characteristics that can be recognised as part of each and every one of us. We've all been a Mr. Happy, Mr. Funny and even a Little Miss Naughty at times."

The Mr. Men and Little Miss characters have truly developed into a worldwide phenomenon. Forty years on from when they first appeared, 120 million books have been sold, an average of one every 2.5 seconds. In the last decade Roger Hargreaves became the third best selling British author, topped only by J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown. The average household in the UK owns more than one Mr. Men or Little Miss book, with total sales in the UK alone now at more than 75 million.

Beyond literature, the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters have more than made their mark on popular culture.
• The Mr. Tickle story replaced the Lord's Prayer as the text that is read and recorded in a time capsule of public voice recordings at the British Library's ‘Evolving English' programme

• Earlier this year, Google commemorated the 76th birthday of the late Roger Hargreaves in Mr. Men's 40th year with a series of 16 Mr. Men and Little Miss Google Doodles, the highest number of doodles ever created for a single day!

• Fashion icon Stella McCartney appeared as Little Miss Stella in 2006 and Paul Smith has made a suit inspired by Mr. Tickle - other fashion partnerships are to be announced throughout the year

Across the four decades, Mr. Men and Roger Hargreaves have appeared on a who's who of British TV including Top of The Pops as well as their own original TV series on the BBC, which was voiced by Arthur Lowe.

This year Mr. Men and Little Miss have received birthday messages from celebrity fans all over the world including:

• Simon Cowell said: "Mr. Men have provided an awful lot of fun for so many people over the last 40 years, I hope the next 40 years will be even more successful. Congratulations!"

• Eliza Doolitte added: Happy 40th anniversary Mr. Men! I will always remember reading you when I was little. My favourite was Mr. Bump!

• JLS said, "Happy Birthday Mr. Men - we are all big fans. We've worked out we are Mr. Happy (JB) Marvin is (Mr. Tall) Mr. Small (Aston) and Mr. Strong (Oritse)"

• James Argent (TOWIE) "40 years of Mr Men? Shut up! Congratulations!"

In March earlier this year, the latest Little Miss character, Little Miss Princess, was launched, coinciding with the Royal Wedding and reaching number three in the UK book charts.

Elsewhere, the Mr. Men Party Road Show Live is touring the UK, Nails Inc. are launching a range of stunning nail polishes, inspired by classic Little Miss characters, Tesco are celebrating the anniversary with a range of sweets and smoothies and Delta DVD are launching a 40th anniversary box set.

Plus, running from now through to September, Selfridges is marking the Mr. Men and Little Miss 40th anniversary with a bespoke, fully branded pop up store dedicated especially to them; which includes anniversary artwork by artist Paul Oz for Art you Grew Up With.

Check out the Mr. Men and Little Miss blog for more media content
www.mrmen40th.com