Hangin' with Dudley

When Naomi Chavez, Corporate Credit Lead in our LA headquarters, brought her Dudley Du-not swag home, she knew her 10-year-old nephew, Ethan, would like it. The goodies included a t-shirt and a plushie toy—the same one our other recent Dudley fan, little Ava, fell in love with. But even Naomi didn’t realize just how smitten this kid would be.

The next time she saw Ethan, he handed her a letter addressed to the “boss of Ernest,” which laid out his product plan for a Dudley squishy toy, along with a sticker and a mini comic book about his adventures to be included in the package.

Naomi took the letter to work, thinking our fearless leader, Tim, would get a kick out of it. Upon reading it, he turned to her and said, “Why haven’t you brought him to meet Dudley yet?”

“I couldn’t believe it!” Naomi says. She spoke to her sister and within a day, the marketing department went into action and an office visit was orchestrated. When Ethan, his brother, and two friends arrived, Naomi thought it would just be a quick meet and greet with Dudley and a cute photo opportunity. But Dudley and his faithful staff had other plans. After all, this is his house.

The boys found a whole reception waiting for them, complete with games, drinks, and—you guessed it—donuts, not to mention Dudley himself. The kids got to play, eat, and meet their sweet idol, with Ethan declaring, “I’m not a fan of Dudley. I’m a MEGA fan!”

Next, they donned safety vests and went for a tour of “Dudley’s house,” a.k.a. the warehouse. Highlights for Ethan included meeting Dudley and getting to pitch some of his ideas for the next company picnic. (Seriously, this kid is going places.)

Ethan was so blown away by the whole experience, he didn’t want to leave. “It was a big deal for a little boy,” Naomi says. While the Marketing team is currently looking into getting Ethan’s Dudley squishy toy idea made, Mr. Du-not himself is busy booking the next stops on his goodwill tour. To find out where he’s headed, be sure to check out the Dudley’s Playhouse fan site and have a go at our Dudley Dash game while you’re there. It’s a tasty little adventure.

Thanks for sharing your bright idea with us, Ethan! We can’t wait to see what you dream up next.