When a kid wrote a letter to a toy company requesting they create a stuffed animal based on his favorite animal, they heard his plea.
Clark Neily is all grown up now. But as a second grader, he was obsessed with aardvarks. In a tweet, he explained that he wrote a report about them for school, and the research got him hooked. One day he went into a store and saw some stuffed animals created by a company called Possum Trot. And he was disappointed that there were no aardvarks available.
Clark decided to write the company and gave a researched argument on why they should include the mammal in its lineup. He did such a great job convincing them, that they manufactured on within six months. What made it even better is that the company named the toy “Clark.”
The Letter Earned the Kid the Debut Clark the Aardvark
In the letter, Clark explained that he’d been a “fan” of the company for some time, and he’d recently visited a store that sold their stuffed beavers. He “fell in love” with it “immediately.” But he wanted another toy to love, too.
“I was wondering if by any chance you would make an Aardvark,” he wrote. “This is often an animal that gets confused with anteaters. Some people say ‘big deal, what’s the difference?”
“There really is a difference. Anteater’s tails are shaggy, their snout is longer, and they have shorter ears,” he explained. “I’ll draw you a picture.”
Clark sketched booth animals and went on to remind them not to “get mixed up” if they manufactured the toy. He also asked the company to write back with its answer either way.
Possum Trot ended up responding that summer. In its letter, a representative apologized for taking so long to respond. They also included the debut of Clark the Aardvark.
“We took your letter very seriously, and we hope our aardvark meets with your approval. We look forward to hearing from fans like you, and we hope you will continue to let us know what you think of our toys.”
Clark still has his aardvark to this day. And the story remains one of his favorite childhood memories.
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