Boris Johnson’s praise this week for Peppa Pig has bewildered the nation.
It turns out that a large portion of the public doesn’t know who the PM is referring to when he addresses business leaders.
In fact, Peppa rakes in billions — and, as Tom Rawstorne reveals, she’s not the only famous little piggy to be conquering the world…
So let’s get this straight — which little piggies are we talking about?
Peppa Pig, Percy Pig
They sound delicious…
Well, Percy definitely is — he’s a pudgy pink sweet sold exclusively by Marks & Spencer who will turn 30 next year. Peppa’s also adorable — she’s a four-year-old cartoon girl pig who has been entertaining children since first hitting British screens in 2004.
What can I do to spot them?
Well, they’re pigs. Or rather, anthropomorphic porkies. On Monday, Boris said dress-wearing Peppa resembled a ‘Picasso-like hairdryer’. But Percy’s squashed snout looks like he’s been chasing parked tractors.
Peppa is her name?
Is that what you meant by the alliteration? Well, her three British creators wanted Peppa — described as a ‘lovable but slightly bossy little pig’ — to be a bit ‘peppery’. Mummy Pig lives with Daddy Pig, George and George. But she’s also got lots of other alliterative pals including Danny Dog and Zoe Zebra.
Are Percy and his family all alone?
It’s not the least bit. Since 2018, Percy’s been married to Penny, their nuptials marked by M&S with the release of new packs of sweets featuring the couple in wedding attire (£1.65 a pack).
So Percy’s more than a little piggy?
Too right. It’s estimated ten Percy Pigs are sold every second and he rakes in £50 million a year for M&S. Not bad given that when the sweets first went on sale, some shoppers feared they’d taste of bacon.
What if I don’t like sweets?
Don’t worry, Percy Pig can be purchased as Percy Pig napkins, Percy Pig wrapping papers, Percy Pig pet baskets, and all other accessories.
Percy’s the real Daddy Pig, then?
Not at all. Boris attempted to explain that Peppa is Percy’s sausage-meat. She’s among the leading pre-school TV shows in the UK and U.S. and has been translated into 40 languages with global sales worth £1billion a year. In 2019, Entertainment One, which owned the bulk of the rights to the series, was sold off to U.S. toy giant Hasbro for £3.3billion.
So Boris didn’t tell porkies when he said Peppa was ‘pure genius’…
Definitely not — but there have been some rocky patches in the pig sty. In the first two series, Peppa and her family didn’t wear seat belts, sparking complants. Meanwhile, in Australia, home to some of the world’s most dangerous arachnids, the national broadcaster banned an episode in which Peppa reassures her brother that spiders are harmless.
Are there any other issues?
Yes. Peppa was accused of perpetuating modern stereotypes by multi-tasking Mummy Pig while hapless Daddy Pig is a jokester.
But Percy’s just a sweetie, isn’t he?
Percy turned vegetarian in 2019. However, Percy fan threatened to boycott Percy after the gelatine (taken from pork) was pulled from their recipe. Some consumers claimed the new sweets were ‘soapy’. Then last year M&S was criticised over its packaging which included phrases such as ‘Made with real fruit juice’. Food campaigner Henry Dimbleby accused the company of ‘trickery’. But M&S hit back, saying its boast that Percy Pigs have no artificial flavourings was true and pointing out a range with a third less sugar had also recently been released.