I recently discovered this incredible story in The New York Times about Ms. Rachel, who is the star of a mega-viral YouTube channel created with her husband.
Here are the highlights from the NYT article 👇
Rachel Accurso, 41, for several years taught music to students in preschool through second grade. She came up with the idea for their YouTube series soon after their son turned 1 and they learned that he had a speech delay.
In the videos, dozens of which each top 100 million views, Ms. Rachel cheerfully speaks to young viewers while wearing a signature outfit of denim overalls, a pink T-shirt and a knotted pink headband.
Little ones go wild for her version of “Hop Little Bunnies” and for characters like a fluffy orange puppet named Herbie, voiced by her husband, Aron Accurso.
This holiday season, toy company Spin Master is marketing a series of Ms. Rachel toys, including a plush version of Rachel herself, which has been programmed to sing and coo phrases just like she does on YouTube.
Walmart says it is the most successful presale for any toy line in company history. By the time the holidays are over, Ms. Rachel is expected to be the top new toy license this year 🫡
This year, their YouTube channel nearly tripled to more than 12 million subscribers and as per YouTube, the channel had one of the platform’s highest watch times on televisions in the past year. 📺
The supercharged journey of toys from YouTube screens to retail sensation illustrates the seismic changes afoot in children’s media as her rise has been fueled by YouTube, rather than PBS or Nickelodeon, and enhanced by her presence on TikTok and Instagram, where nearly 8 million millennial and Generation Z parents connect to her 😍
Source: The New York Times, 2024/11/29
