Business Opportunities Weblog

August 28, 2008 by Rich Whittle | 4 Comments

PRNewswire:

WHAM-O, Inc., announced that John Bisbal III of East Northport, New York is the winner of the company’s 60th Anniversary Kid Inventor Contest.

In saluting WHAM-O’s storied, and sometimes “zany,” history of redefining fun with off-the-wall toys and imaginative inventions, WHAM-O’s Kid Inventor Contest encouraged kids between the ages of 6-17 to tinker, test, create and submit their ideas for the next great WHAM-O toy by visiting the contest website.

After reviewing hundreds of submissions from the U.S. and Canada, John’s submission scored highest, as determined by a panel of WHAM-O judges, in terms of originality, uniqueness of approach, marketability and mass appeal.

“Of all the great toy concepts we reviewed, John’s was closest to WHAM-O’s spirit of innovative outdoor fun, and its history of providing children and adults with imaginative toys that spark creativity and encourage social interaction,” said Chris Guirlinger, WHAM-O’s Vice President of Marketing and Licensing. “We are very excited to work with John on the possibility of turning his winning concept into the next great WHAM-O toy.”

The winning invention is designed for both outdoor and indoor use and tests the user’s skill and aim by catapulting balls from a specially designed launcher. In addition to winning the $2,000 Grand Prize, John’s invention will be reviewed for inclusion in WHAM-O’s 2010 toy line-up, and if made, John will receive a portion of the profits from the manufacturing and distribution of his toy.

When asked what inspired him to create his invention, John answered, “I don’t know. It just came to my head. I was reading Nick Magazine and there were only two days left until the end of the contest, so I said to my dad, ‘let’s try to come up with something,’ and it just came to me.”

Photo by WHAM-O, Inc..

In Competition, Inventions, Kids | 4 Comments