Even at 25, the SpongeBob franchise continues to be money for Nickelodeon

This pineapple under the sea should certainly be a penthouse by now.

SpongeBob SquarePants, the animated porous prodigy, celebrated his 25th birthday this year. And unlike most young adults, he and his Bikini Bottom cohorts have been a godsend for parent company Nickelodeon, generating $16 billion in retail sales since the franchise’s launch.

“Over the course of 25 years, we have seized the opportunity to celebrate SpongeBob in his relationship with our audiences and to celebrate art that inspires our curiosity and contributes to the fabric of our culture,” said Ramsey Naito, president of Paramount and Nickelodeon Animation. “This is what SpongeBob creator Steve Hillenburg loved and celebrated every day of his life.”

Voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs) and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton), as well as executive producers Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller, took the party to New York Comic Con on September 18, where she announced the renewal of The Patrick Star Show spin-off for a fourth season and released a clip from the upcoming half-hour 25th anniversary special.

So it’s an excellent time to look back at some of the franchise highlights from the last two and a half decades.

“There is such a love for SpongeBob – the show and the character – and all of his friends in Bikini Bottom. For us, it’s about creating the best possible products and experiences for fans to deepen their emotional connection to the show,” said Pam Kaufman, president and CEO, international markets, global consumer products and experiences.

“Whether it’s Pharrell’s capsule collection or Moschino’s runway, an iconic popsicle truck, the first-ever SpongeBob dark ride in Las Vegas, a race car with SpongeBob’s face in Australia, or the SpongeBob sphere -Crocodile – we have it all. We have given our fans unforgettable brand extensions that remain authentic to the world of SpongeBob for 25 years.”

Here are some of the most memorable collaborations, from celebrities to sports stars to fashion designers to hot brands:

• 2013 Capsule Collection with Pharrell Williams/SpongeBob x ICECREAM
• 2014 – presented by designer Jeremy Scott on the Moschino catwalk at Milan Fashion Week. Looks launched at retail and worn by fans such as Katy Perry and Rita Ora.
• 2018 – Exclusive Vans collection featuring unique footwear, apparel, accessories and skate deck collections in adult, youth and toddler sizes.
• 2019 – Collaborated with Kyrie Irving and Nike to create a sneaker collection featuring the characters from Bikini Bottom. The product sold out within minutes.
• 2021 – Chicago-based visual artist and designer Louis De Guzman teamed up with music superstar and fashion/pop art connoisseur J Balvin for a special art, apparel, home and figurine collaboration to create SpongeBobs to honor his influence on pop culture, culminating in a 5-day pop-up art installation in Chicago.
• 2023 – Puma x SpongeBob collection featuring sneakers, apparel and accessories for kids and adults

The brand’s best food seller ever? Frankford’s Krabby Patty gummies, the No. 1 licensed entertainment brand candy on the market, says Kaufman, who adds that the consumer products playbook is about creating opportunities to bring SpongeBob into people’s lives throughout the day and throughout the years to bring fans.

Nickelodeon is also expanding the franchise’s presence in gaming – from integrating with platforms from Minecraft to Brawlhala to Fall Guys and launching mobile games. “We use this platform to tell original stories and enable deep interaction with our characters. Whether on consoles, mobile devices or in virtual worlds, these unique moments create deeper brand affinity among consumers,” says Kaufman.

“Roblox has grown into one of the largest gaming platforms in the world with nearly 80 million daily active users, and we are delighting this audience with SpongeBob Simulator. This is a fully immersive game that combines everything fans love about Bikini Bottom with the very popular simulator genre on the platform. To date it has received over 55 million visits, and there are more virtual world games coming soon that I’m really excited about but can’t talk about yet. Our games and emerging media team have done great innovation in this area.”