Post by jellybeaniehunt on Aug 21, 2022 17:03:52 GMT
Jellybeanies was a virtual pet website and plush toy line by Tomorrow Incorporated/Team Tomorrow (both names have been used officially, so I’m listing them both here) released in 2007. The line was in the vein of Webkinz, where kids could purchase the plushies and use a code that came with them to play as the character they purchased on the official website, and had the gimmick of being filled with scented pellets so that they’d let off scents if you squeezed them.
The website was a pretty simple virtual pet site—you could feed your pet, play games with it and give it accessories, with new locations being unlocked for each pet you added in. The toyline released a single wave of eight plushies (with a bonus ninth plush that could only be obtained through special deals), with them mainly being sold online. Physically, they were only sold at a few select locations via the Gordmans store chain. The line was renamed/rebranded to Jellybean Friends in 2008, lasted for a few years, and ultimately it just… Vanished around the early 2010s. The website shut down in October 2011, if poking through Wayback Machine archives of the website is of any indication, and Tomorrow Inc vanished off the face of the earth with nothing to speak of, leaving hinted plans for further waves of plushies and other content for the website scrapped.
That being said, a few things remain—namely, the official Youtube channel which has a tutorial video for the website and a commercial for the plush toy line. The website has also been decently archived on the Wayback Machine, though a lot of assets are broken (not sure if they weren’t archived or broke because of a lack of flash).
Commercial: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP6vjeUswbY
Website how to play video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY3PHQYRJfI
Website name (can be plugged into Wayback Machine to check archives): jellybeanies.com/jellybeanfriends.com
Tomorrow Incorporated/Team Tomorrow website (can be plugged into Wayback Machine to check archives): www.tomorrowincorporated.com/
Online storefront and retail partners list (can be plugged into Wayback Machine to check archives): store.jellybeanies.com/ & www.tomorrowincorporated.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=33
I’ve been looking into leads to contact in hopes of finding any website assets and potentially scrounging up info on what was planned before the line was scrapped, if there was anything, but haven’t had much luck in so far. Here’s what I’ve been able to find in terms of potential leads.
Employees of Tomorrow Inc/Team Tomorrow – The obvious first start, but also the trickiest. It doesn’t seem like many of their employees have any socials, and if they do they don’t seem to mention anything about Tomorrow Inc, and the sheer amount of similarly-named companies makes it hard to find employees. That being said, I might know of a few—the trademark listing for Jellybeanies mentions it was filed by a John B Regan (https://trademarks.justia.com/771/03/jellybeanies-77103273.html), as well as a “Guardian” (presumably a staff member for the website)—Guardian J, who narrated the website’s how to play video. (Guardian J also posted a few news updates on the website as well)
Employees of Ever Sparkle Technologies LTD who worked there around the mid-late 2000s – via Panjiva (https://panjiva.com/Tomorrow-Inc/2162189), a website that collect trade supply information, I found out that Tomorrow Inc’s supplier was Ever Sparkle Technologies LTD, a design and manufacturing company in China that specializes in electronics. They do have some profiles and websites in English, so while it’s a long shot, it might be a plausible lead.
ADC2378/Andres Alvarez(?) - artist who worked on the website. He posted a turnaround he did for the website on his old Deviantart, which has since been deactivated with no archives to be found, and he doesn’t appear to have any socials. That being said, some of his work for The Cleveland Show was archived on one of those wallpaper aggregating websites (https://wallpapersafari.com/w/yk51iS), and it’s signed with the name Andres Alvarez—so maybe looking for something under that could help?
Georgette Perna – was most likely the narrator for the commercial, the role is mentioned in a bio she has on an audiobook website where she narrates (https://audiobookstore.com/narrators/georgette-perna-audiobooks/), and the commercial reel on her website (https://www.georgetteperna.com/) has a few voices that sound suspiciously similar to the one in the commercial. Has the aforementioned website, which has a phone number to get in touch with her agent, and an email address, but I haven’t tried getting in touch with her yet.
Lindsay Ryan – potentially one of the child actors that showed up in the commercial, with the role being listed on her IMDB (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3071936/?ref_=nm_wrk). Going by the birth year listed on said IMDB profile, she would’ve been about nine or ten when the commercial was filmed, which would likely line up with the demographics they were targeting and such. Shared a few social media pages with her sisters who were also actresses, but the pages either haven’t been updated in years or have been deleted.
The website was a pretty simple virtual pet site—you could feed your pet, play games with it and give it accessories, with new locations being unlocked for each pet you added in. The toyline released a single wave of eight plushies (with a bonus ninth plush that could only be obtained through special deals), with them mainly being sold online. Physically, they were only sold at a few select locations via the Gordmans store chain. The line was renamed/rebranded to Jellybean Friends in 2008, lasted for a few years, and ultimately it just… Vanished around the early 2010s. The website shut down in October 2011, if poking through Wayback Machine archives of the website is of any indication, and Tomorrow Inc vanished off the face of the earth with nothing to speak of, leaving hinted plans for further waves of plushies and other content for the website scrapped.
That being said, a few things remain—namely, the official Youtube channel which has a tutorial video for the website and a commercial for the plush toy line. The website has also been decently archived on the Wayback Machine, though a lot of assets are broken (not sure if they weren’t archived or broke because of a lack of flash).
Commercial: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP6vjeUswbY
Website how to play video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY3PHQYRJfI
Website name (can be plugged into Wayback Machine to check archives): jellybeanies.com/jellybeanfriends.com
Tomorrow Incorporated/Team Tomorrow website (can be plugged into Wayback Machine to check archives): www.tomorrowincorporated.com/
Online storefront and retail partners list (can be plugged into Wayback Machine to check archives): store.jellybeanies.com/ & www.tomorrowincorporated.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=33
I’ve been looking into leads to contact in hopes of finding any website assets and potentially scrounging up info on what was planned before the line was scrapped, if there was anything, but haven’t had much luck in so far. Here’s what I’ve been able to find in terms of potential leads.
Employees of Tomorrow Inc/Team Tomorrow – The obvious first start, but also the trickiest. It doesn’t seem like many of their employees have any socials, and if they do they don’t seem to mention anything about Tomorrow Inc, and the sheer amount of similarly-named companies makes it hard to find employees. That being said, I might know of a few—the trademark listing for Jellybeanies mentions it was filed by a John B Regan (https://trademarks.justia.com/771/03/jellybeanies-77103273.html), as well as a “Guardian” (presumably a staff member for the website)—Guardian J, who narrated the website’s how to play video. (Guardian J also posted a few news updates on the website as well)
Employees of Ever Sparkle Technologies LTD who worked there around the mid-late 2000s – via Panjiva (https://panjiva.com/Tomorrow-Inc/2162189), a website that collect trade supply information, I found out that Tomorrow Inc’s supplier was Ever Sparkle Technologies LTD, a design and manufacturing company in China that specializes in electronics. They do have some profiles and websites in English, so while it’s a long shot, it might be a plausible lead.
ADC2378/Andres Alvarez(?) - artist who worked on the website. He posted a turnaround he did for the website on his old Deviantart, which has since been deactivated with no archives to be found, and he doesn’t appear to have any socials. That being said, some of his work for The Cleveland Show was archived on one of those wallpaper aggregating websites (https://wallpapersafari.com/w/yk51iS), and it’s signed with the name Andres Alvarez—so maybe looking for something under that could help?
Georgette Perna – was most likely the narrator for the commercial, the role is mentioned in a bio she has on an audiobook website where she narrates (https://audiobookstore.com/narrators/georgette-perna-audiobooks/), and the commercial reel on her website (https://www.georgetteperna.com/) has a few voices that sound suspiciously similar to the one in the commercial. Has the aforementioned website, which has a phone number to get in touch with her agent, and an email address, but I haven’t tried getting in touch with her yet.
Lindsay Ryan – potentially one of the child actors that showed up in the commercial, with the role being listed on her IMDB (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3071936/?ref_=nm_wrk). Going by the birth year listed on said IMDB profile, she would’ve been about nine or ten when the commercial was filmed, which would likely line up with the demographics they were targeting and such. Shared a few social media pages with her sisters who were also actresses, but the pages either haven’t been updated in years or have been deleted.
