The People's Beanie

On March 20th, the day before, Beanieholics brought to the attention of collectors, through a Ty retailer, what was about to happen. The flyer received announced that 'the people' would be able to vote for "The People's Beanie" ... by choosing the color, style, ribbon, and name given on the Ty site. There would be 9 Beanies to choose from ... until all but one was eliminated.

Posters began appearing at Ty retailers shortly afterwards, announcing the Contest. The poster stated:

Now it's your turn to design a BEANIE BABY!
What will it's name be?
What color will it be?
THE PEOPLE'S BEANIE
April 1st
www.ty.com

April 1, 2001
The People's Beanie Contest was posted on the Ty website, with the following instructions:

The People's Beanie: Now it's your turn to design a Beanie Baby
April 1 - 6
Design your candidate by following the instructions on the
next page. You may submit as many designs as you like.
April 6 - 13
Ty will tally the votes, photograph the 9 most popular
designs and prepare for the next round.
April 13 - 20
The 9 most popular designs will become finalists in the
elimination round. You will be able to support your
favorite candidate by voting off the competition until only
2 remain! Vote early, vote often!
April 27 - 29
Two are left, but there can only be one PEOPLE'S
BEANIE! Who will it be?

April 13, 2001
The nine most popular Beanie Baby designs were posted on Ty's site, and the Elimination Round began. You could vote off an many times as you wanted, eliminating each Beanie until only your preferred Beanie was left. The 'bubble messages' were interesting ... perhaps clues? We shall see!

The 9 Beanie Babies in The People's Beanie Contest (with Elimination Dates):

Gem - Eliminated April 27, 2001
Fancy - Lost to Classy ... April 30, 2001

Ty extended the final vote until April 30, 2001, 9:00 am CDT
Choose a Bear, Choose a Birthday, Choose a Poem
and Register your Vote!

Poem Choices!
Choice #1	Choice #2
First there were nine candidates. Who would win... We couldn't wait! Now the final votes are cast. The People's Beanie... here at last!	I'm proud to be the Beanie you chose. I know for sure my happiness shows. Thanks so much for creating me. It's great to be the People's Beanie!

Congratulations = CLASSY !!! - THE PEOPLE'S BEANIE!

Birthday ... April 30, 2001
... Poem ...
I'm proud to be the Beanie you chose.
I know for sure my happiness shows.
Thanks so much for creating me.
It's great to be the People's Beanie!

Ty Newflash - Retirement
On August 8th, TyStore reported that Classy was 'Sold Out' ... "Classy is no longer available at the Ty Store. Please look for The People's Beanie at Ty Authorized Retailers in your area." On September 7th. Ty announced the retirement of Classy.