The journey of the rhino

Today I am describing the history behind Shanise’s stuffed rhinoceros. Her rhino is around fifteen years old, and lacks any sort of descriptive markings, the name of the manufacturer on the label is also difficult to read. However, thanks to Sara Karpinski and E-Bay I now know the origin of this stuffed animal. It was produced by a company named “It’s All Greek to Me” (IAGTM) as a promotional item for Rhinocort, a brand name for Budinosol, produced by Astra AB (now AstraZeneca Co). Astra AB distributed these rhinos probably at no cost to doctors and hospitals, who in turn gave them to patients and their families, also probably at no cost. Shanise’s (and Sara’s) story confirms that the object was received from a hospital while recovering from a major illness. So although Shanise is the only end-user of the product, the chain of distribution described above has its own use.

This sort of object has two uses, one by the company who ordered them, and another by the end user. Astra AB used that model of stuffed rhino to plug their product to the doctor, who would hopefully remember their brand of Budinsol when he/she needed to prescribe it. Promotional items have been a part of the landscape since around 1789—when commemorative buttons were distributed celebrating George Washington’s election as President of the United States. Today they are a common practice by many corporations—especially the pharmaceutical industry. (See more here, members of the Temple University network can also see more here.)

Shanise, as the end owner of the object, has a different use for it. It was given to her as an item of emotional comfort in a time of need, something that is a common use for stuffed animals. When I picked up the rhino at First Person Arts, I could feel how such a cuddly toy could be a comfort in a time of need (knowing it was a cheap promotional toy, I expected it not to be that soft and comfy). Children will usually give some sort of imaginarily life force to these animals so that they are comforted while in the hospital, and then often serve as a reminder of how well the child recovered.

Stuffed animals are often used for comfort objects, but most of the time they are given at a time when the child does not need comfort, just something to play with. Since their manufactured inception around 1880 (Steiff corporation claims to have made the first ones then) they have been used as imaginative playthings. The proof of this exists in most children’s past, but also in popular culture. Watch Barney, or read Winnie the Pooh and you can see how advanced stuffed animal play can be.

Although IAGTM no longer makes a stuffed rhino (there is no rhino listing on their website that I could find), they still make many stuffed animals as promotional objects, indicating that the practice of using stuffed animals to promote products remains today. Next week will be more on how stuffed animals have been used in popular culture.