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News May 31, 2019

The July 4th Gritty Bobblehead Is Here – And You Need It

The Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot may look like a total nutter, but he’s a marketing and branding hit.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Gritty is all Philadelphia Flyers orange, but he’s about to get his red-white-and-blue on in a big way.

The marketing and branded merchandising phenomenon that is Gritty – the pro hockey Flyers’ maniacal-looking, googly-eyed mascot – has been an endless source of amusement…and legitimate brand-building lessons, as we’ve documented here and here and here – and, well, here too. (Did we mention we like Gritty a bit…?)

And now, there’s a new Gritty swag offering that bumps elbows with the promotional products market: A patriotic, Fourth-of-July-inspired Gritty bobblehead that’s in stock starting Monday, June 3. Pre-order is already underway.

The new limited edition, Fourth-of-July-inspired Gritty bobblehead is made by Kollectico and can be purchased here.

Hand-sculpted and painted by the pros at Kollectico, the new Gritty bobble comes in a full-color collector’s box. Only 243 of the bobbleheads are being produced. Each will be numbered.

Gritty aficionados – there probably are such folks – will no doubt shell out the $30 for the NHL officially licensed bobble. If we know Gritty, he’ll probably add one to his own self-adoring personal collection:

From a marketing perspective, the Fourth-of-July Gritty bobble could well be a win. It’s potentially a way of generating positive, fun fan engagement after a disappointing Flyers season and keeping the franchise top-of-mind while hockey – well, Flyers hockey anyway – is on hiatus. It’s also a case study in tying a brand to seasonal/societal events while keeping the core brand intact. But enough over-thinking it. Here’s a little more Gritty to make you smile: