Thursday, September 30, 2021

My Week with Promotions and Initiatives: Save Sprout

 

The Save Sprout campaign was created by The Chase, who also created the Live Sprout branding.


You see, Sprout and DIRECTV have been neglecting for a year in 2012, and it was announced that DIRECTV would no longer carry Sprout. The people at Sprout launched a website where people would call 1-866-9-SPROUT or talk about why they loved Sprout.

It totally worked!

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Weekly Character Wednesdays - Nicholas

 


NICHOLAS

APPEARED IN:

Sprout Weekends promo (2005/2006)

BEST-KNOWN ROLE:

Four year old boy, TV watcher

WHO IS NICHOLAS? This is Nicholas. He appeared in a Sprout Weekends promo from around 2005 and/or 2006. In the commercial, 4-year old Nicholas is in his pajamas and has a blanket and teddy bear. Nicholas talks about weekend mornings - he snuggles up with his mom on their big couch and he watches his favorite TV shows.

WHY DOES SPROUT NEED NICHOLAS? Sprout needs Nicholas to have an animated character in a promo. Nicholas is also the same age as the viewers.

R.I.P Sesame Street's Mike Renzi

 


The man in this picture was Mike Renzi, who died today. You may not know his name but you might know his work. Renzi was the music director of Sesame Street from 1999 to 2009, and wrote a few of the show's hits, including…


"The Anyone Who Loves to March in a Parade Parade…"


"Come Back Letter T…"

"A Cookie is a Sometimes Food," the song that sparked a certain rumor…


And the Broccoli rap from the above video I loved back then and still love today.

Anyways, his Sesame work is hard to hear now. Rest In Peace, Mike. You're in a better place now.

My Week with Promotions and Initiatives: The Great Sprout Tuck-In

 



This post I was looking forward to since I am a big fan of sleeping and bedtime. In 2008, Sprout teamed up with Genevieve Pitturo's The Pajama Program, which was founded in 2001, to launch The Great Sprout Tuck-In, an initiative for donating new books and pajamas to children who don't have them. The initiative was convinced by Lauren Monks. (source)


Two PSAs were made for the initiative. One with Nina from The Good Night Show helping the Pajanimals get ready for bed and talking about the Tuck-In.


…and the other featuring Nina reading to Star. This one incorporates clips from Sprout shows and blocks - as well as the purple television.


The initiative had its own section of Sproutonline.com. Coloring pages made to promote the Tuck-In included "Pin the Polka Dots on Chica's Pajamas" and "Make Your Own Pajamas." According to here, it appears Pitturo was on The Sunny Side Up Show once.


In 2010, Liz Filios and Chica of The Sunny Side Up Show held a pajama party on their block to promote the initiative and invited puppet characters from other Sprout shows and blocks. Similarly, Nina hosted pajama drive parties to promote the Tuck In as well.

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

My Week with Promotions and Initiatives: Sprout Smart

 

I'm deeply sorry if I blogged about this in a previous post. In the 2000s, childhood obesity became a widely talked about issue. Most children's edutainment venues were addressing the issue, including Sprout, as it introduced Sprout Diner in 2006. In 2008, Sprout decided to crank it up to eleven by teaming up with Mott's, the leading fruit juice brand.


Sprout, KidsHealth (who accredited the recipes on Sprout Diner and The Let's Go Show), and Mott's for Tots (Mott's preschool brand) created Sprout Smart, a parenting website about healthy living that focused on a new health-related theme each month (i.e. "The ABCs of Getting ZZZs" about sleep). The website launched in 2008, and the above video (which I uploaded on my channel a year ago) is a commercial for the site. As shown in the video's description, it was originally from the Multivu account on Dailymotion, but I got it from a different website since that video was removed from Dailymotion in 2019.

Image from It's All Free Online

The logo was also used on forks and sippy cups.

Sprout-tober

 

Hey, Sproutlets! I just came up with an October-long challenge called Sprout-tober, inspired by challenges such as Ink-tober and Mer-May. You can either (or both) show pictures or draw!


  • Day One - Favorite Sprout show
  • Day Two - Noodle and Doodle
  • Day Three - Favorite Sprout memory
  • Day Four - Favorite ident or bumper
  • Day Five - The Chica Show
  • Day Six - Sprout AU
  • Day Seven - Anything rare you remember
  • Day Eight - Jim Henson's Pajanimals
  • Day Nine - Favorite programming block
  • Day Ten - Astroblast!
  • Day Eleven - Ruff-Ruff, Tweet, and Dave
  • Day Twelve - Favorite programming block (non-human) character
  • Day Thirteen - Sprout Diner
  • Day Fourteen - The Many Adventures of Mr. Mailman
  • Day Fifteen - Favorite programming block host/human character
  • Day Sixteen - Favorite programming block segment
  • Day Seventeen - Favorite promo
  • Day Eighteen - Sproutonline.com
  • Day Nineteen - Favorite Sprout characters and hosts as animals
  • Day Twenty - Sproutorama
  • Day Twenty-One - Sprout Merchandise you own
  • Day Twenty-Two: Yourself on Sprout (either as a non-human character or a host/human character)
  • Day Twenty-Three: Least Favorite Sprout show
  • Day Twenty-Four: Crossover with another franchise/show
  • Day Twenty-Five: Favorite Sunny Side Up Show guest appearance (Sprout character or celebrity)
  • Day Twenty-Six: Your favorite Sprout character dressed as a character from another franchise/show.
  • Day Twenty-Seven: Favorite Sprout online game
  • Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite setting (the Sunshine Barn, the Goodnight Garden, the You and Me Tree etc)
  • Day Twenty-Nine: Fanmade Sprout show or block
  • Day Thirty: Favorite Sprout character
  • Day Thirty-One: Your favorite Sprout character(s) in a Halloween costume

Monday, September 27, 2021

My Week with Promotions and Initiatives: Sprout Please

 

Madeline Fretz - Back in its early days, Sprout was a small channel that reached very few homes. As a way to get itself in your neighborhood, the channel launched a few commercials, posters, online advertisements, and a website called "Sprout Please!," created by Comcast's own Lauren Monks. (source)


The phrase "Sprout Please!" was considered a throwback to the “I want my MTV!" cry of the 80s.


Two commercials were made with people and characters saying "Sprout Please!," and they both ended with Sprout's usual female announcer saying "Ask for the Sprout channel in your neighborhood, call 1-866-9-SPROUT today or say 'Sprout Please!'"


The campaign also had its own website - which featured crafts, recipes, and coloring pages from Sproutonline.com, as well as a printable coloring page in which site visitors could talk about why they want Sprout.

Image from Millennial Marketing

The logo was also used in country-wide banners and posters.


The Wiggles. When the happy clappy Australian band arrived on Sprout in 2009, the Sprout Please website was briefly renamed "Wiggles Please,"and was advertised in promos and country-wide.

I guess the logo was last used in 2010, but I may be wrong. Anyways, this was a great way to promote Sprout, and was pretty fun when it lasted.

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Sprout's Sixteenth Anniversary

 
Madeline Fretz - Hi, Sproutlets. Sixteen years ago today, a certain TV channel by the name of PBS Kids Sprout launched on digital cable. Six months prior, it was on Comcast on Demand. To commemorate the occasion, I written a series of posts RIGHT HERE, blogging about certain things. This was similar to how I uploaded a surplus of videos on YouTube on this day last year, and Let's Grow did the same six years ago.

Happy sixteenth, Sprout! Here's to 16 more! See you in 2037!


Extreme Makeover: The Good Night Show edition

 

Madeline Fretz - The Good Night Show sure has changed over its eleven years of broadcast. Let's take a look at what changed over the years:


In the Leo days, a lot changed since Melanie Martinez got fired. He had a different welcome and goodnight song.

Image from Twitter

When Nina was introduced on December 18th, 2006, the Martinez welcome and goodnight songs came back, but there were also some changes made. The blue chair was now replaced by a blue crescent moon-shaped couch, even though the chair would have a presence in the Sprout floor of Philadelphia's Comcast Center (the original couch would also be in its spot a few years later). A new craft song was introduced, replacing the one Martinez sang. Crafts were dropped in 2011.

Season 4 was introduced on September 26th, 2007. This new season introduced Lucy Light the Way and inducted kids into segments such as stretches, sign language, and a new interview segment. Star would ask kids questions starting in 2011.

In 2011, not only were there new shows and the two changes I mentioned above, but the You and Me Tree was introduced, as well as Sprout a Sandy Story and the Clean Up Song. Nina also got new pairs of pajamas.

In 2015, with the introduction of Nina's World, Nina's dad(?) was introduced and in a new segment, Nina would tell childhood stories to Star in her Best Day Ever book. The blankets on the ground in the hills of Sprout were removed (see picture above).

For more changes, see here. Not only did PBS Kids Sprout launch as a channel sixteen years ago today, but The Good Night Show premiered at 6PM ET that night. This is my last post for tonight, as today I've done many posts for Sprout's sixteenth anniversary.

Bedtime

 


Madeline Fretz - When PBS Kids Sprout launched in 2005, the Georgia-based company Primal Screen was hired to make not only the logo, but the idents for both the channel and Sprout on Demand, which launched six months ahead of the former. One of the idents was the video you see above, originally uploaded on Primal Screen itself's website and then on the YouTube channel Let's Grow (named after Sprout's original slogan) in 2015, which was uploaded as one of a surplus of videos to commemorate Sprout's tenth anniversary, which is sorta like what I'm doing today on this blog.

In the ident, Angelina Ballerina bows and the curtains open. a mom hugs her son in his bed. Outside the boy's window, which appears to be by the beach, a boy and a girl propel their book-like boats, and the Sprout logo sprouts from a ship as the moon rises. Angelina was not featured in the Primal Screen video nor the Let's Grow upload, but on TV broadcasts, like these ones.


Speaking of TV broadcasts, this ident usually played before or after commercial breaks during The Good Night Show and also before Pajanimals music videos (judging by a video I remember seeing years ago). This ident is quite beautiful and relaxing, and a great example of Sprout's early years.

Chica's Big Birthday Surprise

 


The Sunny Side Up Show launched on September 26, 2007, Sprout's second anniversary. A year later, in 2008, we were given an anniversary special a year in the making, Chica's Big Birthday Surprise. The special aired from 6PM to 9PM ET, which was the timeslot usually occupied by The Good Night Show.

Image from the Wayback Machine

In the special, viewers were encouraged to send in birthday cards, wishes, and messages for Chica. In addition, the show Roary the Racing Car made its US debut on Sprout.

Image from Facebook



Children's band The Dream Jam Band appeared in the special to perform a few songs, including one I found on Facebook and uploaded to my YouTube channel (see above).


Two videos of the special were available on the videos section of Sproutonline.com's Sunny Side Up Show website under "Special Guests." I'm assuming the videos were removed once Kevin Yamada left The Sunny Side Up Show. Time can never mend.

Boohbah

 


Boohbah was a British show starring five Grimace-like creatures emerging from balls and dancing. It was made by Ragdoll Productions, who also made Teletubbies.

Image from YouTube

The show was one of many to premiere on PBS Kids Sprout as it launched on September 26, 2005. Six months prior, it premiered on Sprout on Demand under the "Children's Favorites" label and eventually in its own.


The show got its own Sprout Diner snack, ShishkaBoohbahs, and a Birthday Show activity, Boohbah Colorful Surprise Ball. The former was rethemed to The Hoobs and Babu from The Mighty Jungle, and the latter was themed after Chica in 2008.

The show left Sprout in December 2009.

You may be asking yourself, why am I blogging about this show today? Well, Boohbah is a special one because, on September 26th, 2005, when the clock struck 6AM ET, PBS Kids Sprout launched on digital cable. As a the ever resourceful Wayback Machine shows, Boohbah became the first show to air on the new channel.

Sprout and September 26

Madeline Fretz - As we all know, PBS Kids Sprout launched as a video-on-demand service on Comcast in April 2005, and as a digital cable channel on September 26, 2005. Every year since then, Sprout has done something to celebrate, and here's a list:


As mentioned in a previous post, Sprout has done a series of things to celebrate its first birthday in 2006, but most of them were prior to September 26.



The next year, in 2007, Sprout had launched two new blocks, two new shows, and the fourth season of The Good Night Show on the 26th. Musical Mornings with Coo premiered at 6AM ET with Bounce, a direct-to-video series aimed at the autism spectrum, and The Sunny Side Up Show, a LIVE successor to The Birthday Show, premiered at 9AM ET with Play with Me Sesame, which was carried over from NOGGIN.

When the clock struck 6PM ET, it was time for Season 4 (or two, if we're not counting Melanie and Leo's tenures) of The Good Night Show. This new season introduced Lucy Light the Way, a game starring Lucy the Firefly, and real kids took part in stretches and interviews.

On September 26th, 2008, Chica celebrated her birthday, which I'll get to later today. On the same day, Sprout debuted HiT Entertainment's Roary the Racing Car.

In 2009, Sprout didn't do anything on the 26th, but rather then 21st. It rebranded with new graphics and bumpers and Season 5 of The Good Night Show premiered. This new season, which Nina appeared on The Sunny Side Up Show to promote, introduced Rubbadubbers.

In 2010, Sprout celebrated its fifth anniversary on the 25th. It introduced weekend editions of The Sunny Side Up Show, which took place in a refurbished Sunshine Barn set, and its first long-form original series, Noodle and Doodle, which aired on weekends.

In 2015, Sprout hit the big 1-0. And what did it do to celebrate? As celebrity Alyssa Milano became the channel's new "mom-bassador," the channel once again rebranded with new graphics and bumpers, dropping a few of its launch day shows. In addition, Nina's World premiered and The Sunny Side Up Show became Sunny Side Up, "moving" to an apartment in the big city.

Saturday, September 25, 2021

My Week with Birthdays

 

Image from Twitter
This week, as part of the "My Week with" series, I focused on how Sprout celebrated birthdays. Why? Because of two things of course - it turns sixteen on Sunday (I'm planning several posts to celebrate tomorrow) and I and my sisters turned fourteen on Tuesday. On the last day of my Birthday Week (which was yesterday), I posted two videos from a home movie DVD I found to my YouTube channel, similar to how I uploaded several videos to celebrate Sprout's fifteenth last year:



Anyways…
Anyway, I hope Sprout and I had WONDERFUL birthdays, like we always do. Besides, Tuesday was not only my birthday, but it was also twelve years since the second generation launched and The Good Night Show Season 5 premiered. Rubbadubbers also debuted that night. Man! What a busy week on this blog!

Friday, September 24, 2021

R.I.P Willie Garson

 


Madeline Fretz - Actor Willie Garson of White Collar passed away last Sunday, but I didn't pay attention. I learned about it now, and it's pretty devastating news to anyone who's enjoyed his work over the years.

However, us Sprout fans will remember Garson for his appearance on The Sunny Side Up Show in 2015, around the time they moved to New York City's 30 Rockefeller Plaza and started having celebrity guests.

Anyways, you will be missed Mr. Garson. Rest In Peace.

My Week with Birthdays: A Very Special Birthday

 




You know how they have costumed versions of children's characters and people dressed up as Disney princesses and superheroes at kids' birthday parties? (Side note: I know Yo Gabba Gabba! never aired on Sprout, but I posted the last video on here for fun). In 2010, Sprout did something similar.

Image from MySavings

A birthday sweepstakes was held in which kids could receive a visit from Barney the Dinosaur, Chica, and Kelly Vrooman at their birthday parties and win a weekly prize - Barney and Chica dolls. Sounds pretty fun if you ask me. 

Thursday, September 23, 2021

My Week with Birthdays: The Birthday Song

 

When The Sunny Side Up Show launched in 2007, it had its own Birthday Song, an alternative to the traditional one people around the world use.

The song debuted in 2007, and was used before the hosts read birthday cards and wishes delivered to them by Mr. Mailman. It was also used during the nightly Today's Birthdays segments (which I'll get to tomorrow).


Additionally, the song was also sung by all the hosts (and Chica) in an online birthday greeting video.


With the 2015 revamp, the song was also revamped. The style was now pop-based and featured the hosts, characters, and real kids dancing to the song.

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Weekly Character Wednesdays: Hush

 


HUSH

FIRST APPEARANCE:

The Good Night Show (2005)

MOST RECENT APPEARANCE:

Nina's World

BEST-KNOWN ROLE:

Show-introducer, very good swimmer

WHO IS HUSH? This is Hush the Fish from The Good Night Show. At the end of each show, Nina (previously Melanie Martinez) and the viewers would say goodnight to him via a sign language poem and make wishes about what they'd like to have tonight. What did you wish for? In later shows and in a Kindness Counts PSA, Nina and Star would feed Hush. Hush also appeared in animated form on Nina's World, which premiered in 2015.


WHY DOES THE GOOD NIGHT SHOW NEED HUSH? Before Lucy the Firefly was introduced in 2006, Hush was originally the go-to for introducing shows coming up next - he blew bubbles in his bowl that had clips of the show coming on and, as mentioned earlier, appeared in the final continuity link for the host and the viewers to say goodnight and make a wish. 

My Week with Birthdays: It's YOUR Birthday!

 Starting with the site refresh in July 2015 (during Summer of Sprout, a few months before the 10th anniversary rebrand), viewers could celebrate their birthdays ON Sproutonline.com, something Sprout has never done before.

(I can't seem to find a picture of personalized birthdays)

It was just like the birthday wishes on Sunny Side Up - you could upload a picture of your child, type in his (or her) name, and make the screen his (or her) favorite color, all on his (or her) special day, and voila - they have a Sprout birthday surprise!

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

My Week with Birthdays: Happy Happy Birthday to … Sprout?!

 PBS Kids Sprout launched on September 26th, 2005. Prior to that, it launched on Comcast on Demand in April. Every September 26th, Sprout has done something new (which I'll focus on later this week). However, it celebrated its FIRST anniversary in 2006 much earlier. Here's what happened…


Sprout Diner premiered on the 18th…


Leo (played by puppeteer Noel MacNeal) was the guest host of The Good Night Show while auditions were still being held…


Firefighter Dayna Hilton, real kids, and Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog shared some fire safety tips leading up to the premiere of Fireman Sam in October…


PBS' Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks premiered with the "Grand Tails Day" marathon hosted by Grandpa Piggley…


…And finally, The Birthday Show (which I talked about yesterday) became a programming block on the 21st. So that meant it was not just Kevin Yamada reading birthday cards, but each (usually birthday-themed) show would be introduced by Mr. Mailman handing a child a birthday present, and Sprout characters like Big Bird or Angelina Mouseling would drop by to say happy birthday.

Well, I hope Sprout had a great birthday. They did lots of things at the time, maybe even more than the 10th anniversary! (Well, that was the day of the rebrand…)

Rubbadubbers

 

Rubbadubbers was a British stop-motion show produced by HiT Entertainment about bath toys going on adventures when their owners aren't looking. The show originally aired on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. and its preschool cable channel NOGGIN (which now shares its name with the Nick Jr. block).


The show premiered on Sprout on September 21st, 2009, which was also the day Season 5 of The Good Night Show premiered and Sprout rebranded with new graphics.

It aired on Sprout until 2011, when Season 6 of The Good Night Show premiered, although it was on the new Sproutonline.com that year.

Monday, September 20, 2021

My Week with Birthdays: The Birthday Show

 

Image from YouTube
In 2005, Sprout launched with two original content airing between shows - The Good Night Show with Melanie Martinez and The Birthday Show with future Sunny Side Up Show host Kevin Yamada.


In The Birthday Show, host Kevin Yamada read viewers' birthday cards delivered to him by Mr. Mailman (a trait later carried on by The Sunny Side Up Show), shared real people doing party activities like making crafts and recipes or playing games, and showed us how to send in a card, while some Sprout characters would sing a catchy original song.

The Birthday Show was also a block when Sprout turned one in 2006, but we'll focus on that later this week.

The Birthday Show ended sometime in 2007 when The Sunny Side Up Show debuted. Both Yamada and Mr. Mailman would appear on the new live block. Yamada said he was excited about doing birthday cards live. Currently, Tim Kubart of The Sunny Side Up Show hosts a series of the same name on the Hellosaurus app.

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Sheinelle Jones

 Sheinelle Jones is a co-host for the third hour of NBC's Today on weekdays. She is definitely someone who should belong in the Black Hall of Fame.


Jones appeared on The Sunny Side Up Show in early 2015.

She also appeared in February 2016 and hosted Sprout's Black History Month vignettes. The first one she introduced on Sunny Side Up.


Saturday, September 18, 2021

The Chica Show

 

Madeline Fretz - Have you ever seen The Chica Show? Think of it as Elliot Moose meets Mr. Benn meets Sesame Street meets The Sunny Side Up Show! The show features Chica the chicken from The Sunny Side Up Show herself, as well as Kelly (played by Sunny Side Up Show host Kelly Vrooman, who also played Patty the Pig on The Sprout Sharing Show) and her mom, Mrs. C (played by Jennifer Barnhart, who played Cleo on PBS' Between the Lions). They are joined by new characters Mr. C (Chica's dad) (played by John Kennedy of Sesame Street and The Muppets (source)), Stitches the mannequin doll (voiced by Saved by the Bell's Mario Lopez) and Bunji the Rabbit (voiced by John Taylor, who also voiced Sal the Octopus from Astroblast!). The series premiered on Sprout on November 24, 2012 and quickly became the channel's highest rated original series. It also aired on NBC Kids on Saturday mornings.


To promote the show's launch, Sprout interrupted its shows at points by having the characters imitating Chica. The same thing also happened with people in a promo, in which Chica herself makes a cameo. A sneak peek of the series was shown on Halloween 2012, which makes sense because the show took place in a costume shop, and you wear costumes on Halloween.


In addition, an online "Squeakstakes" was held in which viewers would select costumes for Chica to wear on the day of her show's premiere.


The show, along with Noodle and Doodle, left Sprout on July 2017, a month before its inspiration dissolved and two months before Sprout became Universal Kids. However, the show returned to Universal Kids on May 20, 2019 in order to revive ratings and appeal to nostalgia. This was the same day Mofy and Moon and Me started airing on the channel. As of 2020, the show has left Universal Kids due to the channel airing "best of" blocks daily.

My Week with Branding

 Over the years, Sprout has had a few brandings and ad campaigns to promote itself. Now, I’m not talking about the first, second, and third generations, but rather some of Sprout's ad campaigns and prominent brandings.

Now, the reason why there was no post for Wednesday is that I ran out of topics relating to this week's theme to post about. Instead I posted a new Weekly Character Wednesdays post on Star you can read here!

Friday, September 17, 2021

My Week with Branding: Out of the Box

 

Image from YouTube
Madeline Fretz - No, this post is not about the Playhouse Disney show from the 90s. This is about the second generation.

Anyways, Sprout rebranded on September 21st, 2009, which was also the day Season 5 of The Good Night Show and Rubbadubbers premiered (even though "sneak peeks" were shown for the rebrand, like this one). The second generation consisted of "Sproutlet-constructed" intros which featured real kids and their parents playing and opening a cardboard shoebox which opened to the hills of Sprout - leading to the shows or blocks we were about to see. When the blocks ended, the parents closed the same box from the openings. This rebrand really made Sprout unique, and different from its competitors (such as Nick Jr. and Disney Junior).

Image from YouTube

In addition, the promos that aired on the channel between shows ended with a box closing the promo screen, with the show title, time (or block), and cute illustrations depicted. 


*Also* in addition, the box opening was also used online. A box with pictures of the Sunny Side Up Show hosts, Nina and Star, The Wiggles, Caillou, and Elmo would be opened, leading to the Sproutonline.com welcome page.

Anyways, the whole Sproutlet-constructed box thing was good for Sprout and was pretty fun when it lasted. Bar none.