At 25, SpongeBob Franchise Continues To Be Money For Nickelodeon

That pineapple under the sea should certainly be a penthouse by now.

SpongeBob SquarePants, the animated porous prodigy, hit the milestone birthday of 25 this year. And unlike most young adults, he and his Bikini Bottom cohorts have been a windfall for parent Nickelodeon, generating $16 billion in retail sales since the launch of the franchise.

“Over the course of 25 years, we have taken the opportunity to celebrate SpongeBob as it relates to our audience and celebrate art which ignites our curiosity and adds to the mainframe of our culture,” says Ramsey Naito, president of Paramount and Nickelodeon Animation. “This is what SpongeBob creator Steve Hillenburg loved and celebrated in his life every day.”

Voice talent Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton), and executive producers Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller, took the party to New York Comic Con on September 18, where they announced the renewal of spinoff “The Patrick Star Show” for a fourth season, and dropped a clip from the upcoming half-hour 25th anniversary special.

Which makes it an excellent time to look back on some of the franchise highlights through the past two and a half decades.

“There is such a love for SpongeBob—the series and the character—and all his friends in Bikini Bottom. For us, it’s about creating the best products and experiences we can for the fans, to deepen their emotional connection to the show,” says Pam Kaufman, president and CEO, international markets, global consumer products & experiences.

“Whether that’s the Pharrell capsule collection or the Moschino runway, an iconic ice cream truck popsicle, the first-ever SpongeBob dark ride in Las Vegas, a race car branded with SpongeBob’s face in Australia or lighting up the Sphere with SpongeBob crocs, we have given our fans memorable brand extensions that stay authentic to SpongeBob’s world for 25 years.”

Here are some of the most memorable collabs, from celebrities to sports stars to fashion designers to buzzy brands:

• 2013 capsule collection with Pharrell Williams/SpongeBob x ICECREAM
• 2014 – featured by designer Jeremy Scott on the Moschino runway at Milan Fashion Week. Looks launched at retail and showed up on fans such as Katy Perry and Rita Ora.
• 2018 – Exclusive Vans collection including unique footwear, apparel, accessories and skate deck collection in adult, youth and toddler sizes.
• 2019 – Collab with Kyrie Irving and Nike to create a sneaker collection starring the characters from Bikini Bottom. Product sold out in minutes.
• 2021 – Chicago-based visual artist and designer Louis De Guzman joined forces with music superstar and fashion/pop art connoisseur J Balvin for a special collaboration with art, apparel home and figural items honoring SpongeBob’s impact on pop culture, culminating in a 5 day pop-up art installation in Chicago.
• 2023 – Puma x SpongeBob collection of sneakers, apparel and accessories for kids & adults

The brand’s all-time top food seller? Frankford’s Krabby Patties gummy candy, which is the #1 entertainment brand licensed candy on the market, says Kaufman, who adds the consumer packaged goods playbook is about creating ways to bring SpongeBob into fans’ lives throughout the day, and throughout the years.

Nickelodeon is also growing the franchise’s presence in gaming—from integrations in platforms from Minecraft to Brawlhala to Fall Guys, and mobile gaming launches. “We are using this platform as a way to tell original stories and allow for in-depth interaction with our characters. Whether it’s on console, mobile or in virtual worlds, those unique moments create deeper brand affinity for consumers,” Kaufman says.

“Roblox has emerged as one of the biggest gaming platforms in the world with almost 80 million daily active users, and we’re engaging that audience with SpongeBob Simulator. This is a fully immersive game that ties everything fans love about Bikini Bottom with the very popular simulator genre on the platform. It has had over 55 million visits to date, and we have more coming to gaming in virtual worlds soon that I’m really looking forward to but can’t talk about just yet. Our games and emerging media team has done a great job innovating in that space.”