Geoffrey the Giraffe Sign

The Museum acquired the Geoffrey the Giraffe sign from the City of Florence. The City acquired the sign from the Florence Toys R’ Us location shortly after they closed at the end of 2018.

The earliest known version of Geoffrey was known as “Dr. G. Raffe” for Children’s Bargain Town which became Toys R’ Us in 1965. He made his commercial debut in 1973 and was an immediate hit. By 1975, Geoffrey’s family was introduced; his wife Gigi and his children Baby Gee and Junior. With the continued success, the family made their way to television commercials in 1980.

By the 1990’s the creative team at Toys R’ Us decided to focus primarily on Geoffrey and took his family out of the spotlight. In the early 2000s, the world was introduced to an animatronic version. Fun Fact: The voice of this version of Geoffrey was voiced by Jim Hanks, brother of Tom Hanks.

While their U.S. locations have closed as of 2021, there are still over 900 overseas stores still in operation. Geoffrey still remains a staple in advertising for the overseas locations.

06/10/2022: service & replace LEDs, power supplies at cost of $272