Tickle Me Elmo Tickle Me Elmo is a plush Elmo doll that giggles and says " That tickles ! " when his belly is squeezed . Three squeezes in a row sends him into a laughing , shaking frenzy . Produced by Tyco in 1996 , Tickle Me Elmo became that year ' s hottest toy - - and the hardest to find toy since the craze in 1983 . History . In July 1996 , the Tyco marketing team sent a Tickle Me Elmo doll to daytime talk show host Rosie O ' Donnell for her one - year - old son , and another 200 dolls to the show ' s producer . In one " Rosie " episode in October , O ' Donnell used the toys in a stunt based on Groucho Marx ' s " You Bet Your Life " program - - whenever a guest said the word " wall " , she threw a doll out into the audience . Sesame Workshop says that O ' Donnell ' s show " had an early hand in launching the Tickle Me Elmo sensation . " One source claims that sales of the toy jumped after the promotion on " Rosie " , and jumped again in November when Bryant Gumbel held a Tickle Me Elmo toy throughout most of a " Today Show " episode . On Black Friday , the day after Thanksgiving and the " official " start of the Christmas shopping season , Tickle Me Elmo sold out of stores around the country within two hours . Tyco , which had originally expected to sell 400 , 000 Tickle Me Elmos , couldn ' t keep up with the demand , even though they continued to ship new product from their factories in Asia throughout the Christmas season . The company reportedly sold over a million Tickle Me Elmo dolls by Christmas , and over 5 million between 1996 and 1997 . News reports of trampled store clerks and fights erupting over the last doll in the store were not uncommon . Disappointed shoppers became even more disgruntled when " The New York Daily News " reported that John Gotti , Jr . , son of the reputed mob boss , had purchased a case of Tickle Me Elmos at a Toys " R " Us store in Queens , New York , weeks after the store had sold out of them ; corporate officials stated that Gotti " was just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time " and was afforded no special treatment . A black market quickly sprang up in classified ads and on the internet , and there were reports of parents spending hundreds of dollars on the toy , which originally retailed at $ 29 . 99 . Cartier even put a Tickle Me Elmo , draped with a diamond necklace and bracelet worth $ 1 million , in the window of their flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City ; the doll was offered as a free gift with the purchase of the necklace and bracelet . Although Elmo had been gaining prominence and popularity on " Sesame Street " since Kevin Clash took over the character in 1985 , it was the publicity from the Tickle Me Elmo craze that gave the character his biggest exposure and helped him skyrocket to even greater fame . The toy was invented by Ron Dubren , who came up with it seeing two kids tickling each other helplessly . He thought of how he could translate the silliness into a toy , and he and his assistant created Tickles the Chimp from a toy monkey , which did nothing but laugh . Twelve companies turned it down until Tyco realized it ' s advantage and tested the toy in front of adults . The reaction showed that they would have to make the toy somewhat better , and they took a motor now used today to make cell phones vibrate and created Tickle Me Elmo . Tickle Me Elmo Variations . A new Elmo doll has been released every year following release of Tickle Me Elmo , including Let ' s Pretend Elmo and Chicken Dance Elmo , but none of these toys have achieved the success or popularity of the original . Three of these variations have included " tickle " features . Toss and Tickle Me Elmo . Toss and Tickle Me Elmo was released in 1998 . As the name suggests , he laughs when squeezed , just like the original Tickle Me Elmo , and when tossed . Tickle Me Elmo Surprise . Tickle Me Elmo Surprise , also known as the " Surprise Edition " of Tickle Me Elmo , was released in the fall of 2001 . This Elmo has five ticklish spots , but he only goes into his trademark laughing fit when the right spot is tickled . A contest was held in conjunction with the release of the doll , in which five of the " Surprise Edition " Elmos would stop laughing on January 9 , 2002 and announce to the people squeezing them that they had won a prize . The grand prize was $ 200 , 000 . T . M . X . . T . M . X . , which stands for Tickle Me Extreme or Tickle Me 10 ( in honor of the tenth anniversary of Tickle Me Elmo ) , was released on September 19 , 2006 . T . M . X . Elmo has three ticklish spots , on his chin , belly , and foot . He comes in a box that says either " Warning " or " Top Secret " . When the lid is lifted , Elmo giggles and says phrases like " Uh , uh , uh ! No peeking ! " and " Elmo feels really ticklish in here ! " When Elmo is tickled once , he laughs and slaps his leg twice , then sits down and rocks himself back up . When tickled twice , he falls backwards and kicks his feet , laughing even harder . And when tickled a third time , Elmo rolls over onto his stomach , pounding the floor with his fists ( still laughing ) , and then stands back up again . TMX won " Toy of the Year " from the Toy Industry Association ' s annual Toy of the Year Awards ; it also won the " Infant / Preschool Toy of the Year " . It was available in both English and Spanish - language editions . The toys sold for as much as $ 400 on eBay , around 8 times the SRP . Barbie with T . M . X . Elmo Doll . Two different Barbie dolls were released to coincide with the premiere of the T . M . X . Elmo doll . Each Barbie is wearing an Elmo shirt , she is carrying a bag with an image of Elmo ' s face on it , and she comes with a small Elmo doll that giggles when you squeeze his tummy . The tiny Elmo comes in a small replica of the " top secret " T . M . X . box . T . M . X . eXtra Special Edition . Released in 2007 , the T . M . X . eXtra Special Edition Elmo doll laughs , rolls , sings and hiccups when tickled . He has a variety of responses to very specific sequences of posing him and tickling him , such as raising his arm and tickling his tummy to make him sing . A " clue " is provided for each of these tricks ; the first clue comes with the doll . A new rhyming clue was revealed each week on the Fisher - Price website during 2007 ; all clues will be available starting January 2 , 2008 . 2017 re - release . In 2017 , 21 years after the original Tickle Me Elmo ' s release , Hasbro ' s annual press kit of " Sesame Street " toys announced a new version that was released in Fall 2017 , meant to be softer with more activation points . Other " Tickle Me " characters . " Tickle Me " versions of Big Bird and Ernie were released in February 1997 , with " Tickle Me " Cookie Monster ( both regular and large versions ) following in May . A " Shake & Giggle Grover " was also released in 1997 . Although the toys hit shelves mere months after Christmas 1996 , they never neared the popularity achieved by Tickle Me Elmo . The " Tickle Me X - treme " platform expanded with new versions of the Tickle Me Ernie and Cookie Monster dolls which were released for the 2007 holiday season . LOL Elmo . In 2012 , released a new version called LOL Elmo . This toy upped the stakes - - not just laughing and shaking , but also telling jokes and rocking back and forth . Book tie - ins . In 1997 , Western Publishing and Random House published books that featured a tickle theme .