As this year also marks the 10th anniversary of the kiddie program’s debut, the U.K.-based company went all out, partnering with Isaac Mizrahi to produce five Teletubby-inspired handbags and sending the four characters on a tour of Manhattan landmarks. The actors who played Tinky-Winky, Laa-Laa, Dipsy, and Po even removed their costumes (a first) for an interview on the Today show on Thursday.

At the center of the promo is a pop-up store in the West Village, which opened with a party on Wednesday night and will close on April 7. Converting 350 Bleecker Street—once occupied by Kim’s Underground Video and last used for an Altoids promotional campaign—into a fashionable setting was the biggest hurdle. Ted Skala, director of design and production for Grand Central Marketing, conceptualized the retail space. “I didn’t want people to come into a store designed as a playland, especially because I knew that was what they were expecting,” Skala said. “Instead, I wanted to pull from the childlike elements of the Teletubbies brand and add a twist to it with a decor that would be appropriate for an older crowd.”

—AnnaMaria Andriotis

Posted 04.02.07

Photos: Andrew Marks/Retna (Times Square, sketches, food), BizBash (all others)