Globi – 77 years and still going strong

A fairy-tale career – from marketing figure to nation-wide star

Come with me and I'll show you something that only I know. It was in 1932 that Globi extended this irresistible invitation, and with his sense of fun he promptly won the heart of every Swiss child. Globi, a bird-like creature with a large yellow beak, dressed in a beret and wide, checked trousers, was created as a marketing figure to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of Globus, a Swiss department store. The highlight of Globi's early career as a busy promotional figure was his success as the hero of a full-length picture-book. Globi's Trip around the World (Globis Weltreise) was published in 1935 and Globi has starred in 75 further volumes since then. 73 years – and books – after his first "literary" success, a special Globi stamp was issued 1997 by the Swiss Post Office to celebrate Globi's adventures in Globi at the Post Office (Globi bei der Post).

A nation-wide Globi movement

Globi was the brain-child of J.K. Schiele, the then head of the Globus store's advertising department. He had merely wanted to create an easily recognisable figure to introduce all the activities planned for the store's 25^th anniversary; instead, he started a nation-wide movement. Three godparents breathed life into this marketing idea: Globi's unique features were designed by Robert Lips, a commercial artist; his name was invented by Heinrich Läser, sales manager at the Globus store in Basel; and those extremely simple but memorable Globi verses were written by Alfred Bruggmann. During the first years of his life, Globi often mixed with the general public and the children at that time were thrilled to meet him – it must be borne in mind that when they were growing up there was no television, no walkman and very little child-orientated entertainment. These public appearances triggered a veritable Globi movement: a monthly magazine for children, "Der Globi", was published and the first Globi club was founded; this was followed by 699 further clubs with a grand total of 9,000 members. The fact that Globi regularly received fan-mail and, incidentally, replied personally to each letter, shows how firmly he had established himself as an essential part of Swiss family life. Towards the end of the 1950s Globi ended his career as an advertising figure and concentrated fully on his role as the hero of children's books.

"Globi-Verlag" founded as a specialised publishing house

After Globi's Trip around the World in 1935, a new Globi book was published every year. Even in 1943, at the height of the Second World War, 90,000 Globi books were sold. It became apparent that it would make sense to establish a special publishing house. On 21 September 1944, the Globi activities were moved out of the Globus store's advertising department and integrated into a specialised publishing company. Together with Robert Lips, J.K. Schiele had published 35 volumes of Globi adventures when, on reaching retirement age in 1967, he passed on the management of Globi-Verlag to Emil Bannwart. The Papa Moll stories about a good-natured father whose very best intentions were invariably thwarted, provided Globi-Verlag with its other long-term success. Some four hundred Papa Moll stories were written and soon proved to be almost as popular as Globi adventures. Every year more than 160,000 Globi books, round 40,000 Papa Moll books and some 110,000 fairytale tapes are purchased by and for Globi and Papa Moll fans.

The secret of Globi's success – he's just like you or me

Globi's character, his humour and his style account for the extraordinary success he has enjoyed for so many years. A daredevil and happy-go-lucky scamp, Globi draws his young readers into delightful adventures, often adventures where there's also room for good deeds. Globi's character immediately appeals to children, they can readily identify with him. Globi also helps children understand how far they can go, particularly as he occasionally goes beyond such limits in his merry pranks. The fact that the illustrations can be individually coloured and the verses easily learnt by heart has also contributed to Globi's success. The Globi idea is timeless, because Globi acts according to the real wishes and needs of the children at any given period. Quite simply, his picture stories are fun. They are stories that foster a child's imagination and creativity, stories where a certain boldness – not to say impudence – are in order. Moreover, the young readers pick up a wealth of useful and practical information. It is a tremendous challenge for the Globi team to ensure that they stay abreast of the rapid changes in a child's world today.

A new Globi adventure will be published in February 2010. Volume 78: GLOBI at the Airport (Globi am Flughafen). Globi books are available in German and some of them also in English and French.