The Mr Men and Little Miss series is celebrating 50 years by inviting consumers to vote on two new characters. Photo / Supplied
The Mr Men and Little Miss series is celebrating 50 years by inviting consumers to vote on two new characters. Photo / Supplied
The Mr Men and Little Miss books have been a family favourite for five generations, with a lifetime of sales totalling 250 million books.
The books are still loved today, with a Mr Men and Little Miss book sold every 2.5 seconds worldwide.
With a diverse cast of over 90 beloved characters, Sanrio – the company that owns Hello Kitty and the Mr Men and Little Miss brand – is adding two more characters to the mix.
Photo / Supplied
But for the first time ever, fans have the chance to cast their vote on their favourite character from a selection of new diverse faces to help decide on the new characters to be turned into classic Mr Men and Little Miss books.
Voting closes on March 31, with the winners announced later in the year.
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Whether you have an inner sense of Zen like Mr. Calm, are always putting others first like Little Miss Kind, have the heart of a lion like Little Miss Brave, have a can-do attitude like Mr. Brilliant or are full of zest like Little Miss Energy, it seems the characters can be a reflection of our own personalities.
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Alastair McHarrie, licensing director of Sanrio, said the 50th anniversary of Mr Men and Little Miss is an opportunity to reflect on the brand that's been part of so many generations of kids and adults across the world.
"Our celebrations will lead with two new characters chosen by our fans joining our family of well-loved characters and we can't wait to see which two are chosen,' he said.
When the late Roger Hargreaves created the Mr Men character Mr Tickle in 1971, it was rejected by all the big publishers in the UK before the book was picked up by publisher Fabbri and went on to sell a million copies in just three years.
Now the Mr Men and Little Miss books are published in 17 languages worldwide.
In Europe, the books have doubled year-on-year sales since 2017 in high growth markets Greece and Israel.
China is predicted to expand the Mr Men and Little Miss business with the 25 per cent market share following doubling year-on-year sales.
When Roger Hargreaves passed away in 1988, aged 53, his son Adam Hargreaves continued the business, writing and drawing the Mr Men and Little Miss books.
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The son of the original creator said it's amazing to see people are still connected to the books and characters even after 50 years.
"They have always been about getting people to relate with the unique characters and identify the different traits of their own personalities," Mr Hargreaves said. "It's great to involve the fans and let them help shape the next 50 years of Mr Men."
Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Hug were the top-selling books in the series in 2020.
