The Baby Einstein Company
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Baby Einstein (stylized as baby einstein) is an American franchise and line of
multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...
products, including home video programs, CDs,
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s,
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s, toys, and baby gear that specialize in interactive activities for
infant An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
s and toddlers under three years old, created by Julie Aigner-Clark. The franchise is produced by The Baby Einstein Company (formerly known as I Think I Can Productions). The videos show babies, toddlers and preschoolers under four years simple patterns, puppet shows, and familiar objects, such as everyday items, animals, and toys that are often accompanied by reorchestrated classical music written by composers such as
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
,
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
, and many others, as well as some traditional rhymes. The video series is known for its puppets, which are all animals who seldom speak, mostly communicating in simple sounds and their respective animal noises. The Baby Einstein Company has also released a companion series aimed at preschoolers, called ''
Little Einsteins ''Little Einsteins'' is an American animated children's television series based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. It was produced by The Baby Einstein Company (which, at the time, was owned by Disney) and animated by Curious Pictures. The ser ...
''. Baby Einstein was introduced to the public on June 4, 1996, and remained a small company until Clark sold it to
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
. Between November 7, 2001, and October 13, 2013, Disney owned and operated the Baby Einstein brand. Starting on October 14, 2013,
Kids II, Inc. Kids 2, Inc., doing business online as Kids2, is an American infant and toddler toy and product manufacturer based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company designs, manufactures and markets Bright Starts, Baby Einstein, and Ingenuity brand products. Kid ...
owns and operates the Baby Einstein brand.


History

The Baby Einstein Company was founded in 1996 by former teacher and stay-at-home mom Julie Aigner-Clark at her home in suburban Alpharetta, Georgia, as I Think I Can Productions. According to an interview with Julie Dunn, she wanted her babies to be exposed to classical music, poetry, colors, shapes, and more. Aigner-Clark and her husband invested $18,000 of their savings to produce the initial product, a VHS they named ''Baby Einstein'' and later sold as ''Language Nursery'' in 2002 to avoid confusion with the Baby Einstein brand as a whole. The original video shows a variety of toys and visuals interspersed with music, stories, numbers, and words of many languages. Eventually, the video was marketed across the United States,
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,
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
, and Australia. It even won the 1997 Parenting Magazine award for Best Video of the Year. Other videos followed, some featuring the Clarks' two daughters, Aspen and Sierra, as well as other children. It quickly became a multimillion-dollar franchise; its revenue grew from $1 million in 1998 to $25 million in 2001. In October 1998, Julie Aigner-Clark renamed the company the Baby Einstein Company, and on February 10, 2000, Artisan Entertainment announced they had acquired a minority stake in the company in exchange for a North American home video distribution agreement under their Family Home Entertainment division. On November 6, 2001,
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
announced they had acquired The Baby Einstein Company for an undisclosed amount. In late 2002 to 2004, the original Baby Einstein videos were re-produced and edited as well as the product label, discontinuing the selling of the original issues of the videos. The concept and popularity of Baby Einstein expanded as a Disney property. Educational toys and additional videos were developed. Baby Einstein was also the source of inspiration for a preschool-aimed television series called ''
Little Einsteins ''Little Einsteins'' is an American animated children's television series based on the Baby Einstein line of videos. It was produced by The Baby Einstein Company (which, at the time, was owned by Disney) and animated by Curious Pictures. The ser ...
'', created by the Disney-owned Baby Einstein Company and animated by Curious Pictures. The series began with a direct-to-video movie in August 2005. Regular episodes started airing on
Playhouse Disney Playhouse Disney was a brand of programming blocks and international cable and satellite television channels that were owned by the Disney Channels Worldwide unit (now Disney Branded Television) of The Walt Disney Company's Disney–ABC Televis ...
in October. The success of Baby Einstein was estimated to be nearly $400 million based on revenues. Julie was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" and won various awards, and one in three U.S. households with babies were found to own at least one Baby Einstein product. It received positive media and Aigner-Clark appeared on the ''
Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
'', ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', '' The Today Show'', and ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', among others. President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
mentioned the Baby Einstein Company in his 2007
State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditio ...
address, which Aigner-Clark was invited to attend. In 2008, Clark, along with actress Jennifer Garner, hosted a tenth anniversary party for ''Baby Einstein''. Clark had also announced plans to launch a toddler brand called ''Einstein Pals'', including videos, but it has since been abandoned. As a result of Baby Einstein being named after
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
,
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
had to be paid to Corbis which compensates the Einstein
estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...
. This made Einstein one of the top five earning dead celebrities. On October 14, 2013, The Walt Disney Company announced they had sold the ''Baby Einstein'' brand to
Kids II, Inc. Kids 2, Inc., doing business online as Kids2, is an American infant and toddler toy and product manufacturer based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company designs, manufactures and markets Bright Starts, Baby Einstein, and Ingenuity brand products. Kid ...
, a longtime licensee of the property.


Controversy


FTC complaint

In May 2006, the
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Fairplay, previously known as Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), is a United States "national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups, parents, and individuals who care about children nd isthe only nationa ...
(CCFC) filed a complaint with the U.S.
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
(FTC) against the Baby Einstein Company and similar companies for
false advertising False advertising is defined as the act of publishing, transmitting, or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally (or recklessly) to promote the sale of property, goods, or servic ...
."Baby Einstein & Brainy Baby FTC Complaint"
, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood website, retrieved Dec. 15, 2008
The CCFC alleged false advertising based on an
American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was founded ...
recommendation that children under two should be discouraged from watching television. It also cited studies showing that only 6% of parents were aware of that recommendation, whereas 49% thought educational videos were very important in children's intellectual development. In December 2007, the FTC closed the complaint, noting that some of the CCFC's claims did not raise issues under the FTC's substantiation rules."Federal Trade Commission Closing Letter"
to counsel for the Baby Einstein Company, December 5, 2007, retrieved July 9, 2008
The FTC also considered the redesign of the Baby Einstein website, which removed certain product testimonials and product descriptions, as well as the company's promise to make sure that advertising claims about products' educational and developmental value would be properly substantiated.


Language development

A 2010 study published in '' Psychological Science'' demonstrated that children who viewed the videos regularly for one month, with or without their parents, "showed no greater understanding of words from the program than kids who never saw it". On the other hand, children who were taught by their parents improved the most; researchers speculated that this was probably because children learn best "through meaningful gestures and interactive communication with parents". In response to these new findings, Disney offered refunds to parents whose children did not see improvement, even though
Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and Ch ...
, CEO of
the Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, demanded a retraction (of the press release) when a similarly unsupportive study was announced in 2007. The 2007 study, based on telephone interviews with parents, had been published in the ''
Journal of Pediatrics ''The Journal of Pediatrics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that covers all aspects of pediatrics. It was established in 1932 and is published by Elsevier. Although it was originally affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics, ...
'' and resulted in a lawsuit by the company's founders due to widespread negative media coverage stemming from the article. The press release announcing the study explained that for each hour spent watching baby DVDs/videos, infants understood on average six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. The
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
researchers Frederick Zimmerman, Dimitri Christakis, and
Andrew Meltzoff Andrew N. Meltzoff (born February 9, 1950) is an American psychologist and an internationally recognized expert on infant and child development. His discoveries about infant imitation greatly advanced the scientific understanding of early cognition ...
had claimed that, among infants aged 8 to 16 months, exposure to "baby DVDs/videos" such as "Baby Einstein" and "Brainy Baby" was strongly
associated Associated may refer to: *Associated, former name of Avon, Contra Costa County, California * Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, a school in Canada *Associated Newspapers, former name of DMG Media, a British publishing company See also *Associati ...
with lower scores on a Communicative Development Inventory, a standard language development test. The Baby Einstein Company expressed "serious concerns about the many contradictions" in the study. Although University of Washington President
Mark Emmert Mark Allen Emmert (born December 16, 1952) is the current president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He is the fifth CEO of the NCAA; he was named as the incoming president on April 27, 2010, and assumed his duties on November 1, ...
rejected Disney's claims, in 2010, the university settled with the founders, paying out $175,000 in back legal fees and turned over the study's data to the Baby Einstein founders. In March 2008, the ''Journal of Pediatrics'' released a study by
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and the Boston Children's Hospital's Center on Media and Child Health showing that television viewing is, “neither beneficial nor deleterious to child cognitive and language abilities” for children under 2, in a study that examined all television rather than just education DVDs for babies. In January 2010, the founders requested that a judge order the University of Washington to release records for the 2007 study, saying, “Given that other research studies have not shown the same outcomes, we would like the raw data and analytical methods from the Washington studies so we can audit their methodology, and perhaps duplicate the studies". In 2013, the original dataset was reanalyzed by independent scholars who concluded that it was safest to suggest that baby videos had minimal impact on language development and that linking baby videos to decreased language development was not well supported by the data.


See also

* List of Baby Einstein videos


References


External links


Baby Einstein website
{{Authority control 1996 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2013 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1996 Early childhood education in the United States Education companies of the United States Former subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company Manufacturing companies established in 1996 Mass media and entertainment controversies