It began as an Aussie supermarket chain’s novelty collaboration with one of the showbiz world’s biggest corporations.
But as the Disney Ooshie promotion at Woolworths and Big W prepares to leave the shelves, the craze has taken on a life of it own.
From dominating online marketplaces to shady mailbox drops and even school bans, there is little escaping the fad for Aussie parents.
It launched a month ago and rewards shoppers for spending $30 with small, rubber toys in the shape of characters from Disney-owned franchises including Toy Story, Marvel and Star Wars.
And unsurprisingly, a tidal wave of collector culture has washed across Australia, as kids – and some big ones – scramble to complete the collection of 40.
The fad has sparked remarkable online bidding wars, led to playground bans and even seen some resorting to dirty tactics to try to ensure their collections are not left incomplete.
One TikTok user revealed an elaborate scheme in which she splashed out on expensive goods from Big W to claim Ooshies before immediately returning her purchases for full refunds.
Others have turned to online wheeling and dealing to get their last remaining collectables.
‘Call me the Ooshie dealer’
Ree Towers, a 34-year-old mum from Newcastle, has been collecting with her two kids Leonardo, 6, and Sophie, 2.
She recently devoted an entire day to Ooshie swapping with people she met online to help get their collections over the line.
“It is the excitement of opening the packets and seeing if you’ve got the one you need that my children seem to love,” Ms Towers told NewsWire.
“The other day, I dropped my son off at school, then spent the day driving around meeting people to swap Ooshies,” she said.
“I dropped him off, went to swap an Ooshie, went to my pilates class, then did another swap, then a mailbox drop.
“I thought to myself, ‘I can’t believe I’ve spent a whole day driving around Newcastle swapping Ooshies’, but that’s just the lengths you will go to make your kids happy.”
Ms Towers said the phenomenon had created something of a community of its own, as people connect with one another.
“It definitely has brought out some wild behaviour,” she said.
Shelby Rhian, whose family has also completed their collections, said she was originally adamant they would not be taking part in the craze but caved after her kids picked up on the hype at school.
She posted a video on her TikTok page of completing a letterbox drop-off with the caption: “POV: You spend your day Ooshie dealing for your kids cos (sic) it is that serious.”
“I started a Facebook Marketplace listing with all the Ooshies we had to swap and what we needed,” she told NewsWire.
“We have done face-to-face swaps, letterbox drops and even mailed some. The furthest I’ve travelled is probably 15 minutes one way.”
‘Got, got, need’
For people of a certain age, the craze will spark memories of collecting fads of years gone by of misspent youths trading stickers, Pokemon cards and Tazos.
The supermarket chain responded to the demand by setting up swap meets for families to attend stores and make all-important trades.
An event in stores last weekend sent so many Aussies scrambling that a second event this weekend has been organised.
But it is not just Woolies and Big W that have made themselves trading hubs.
Brumbies Bakery in Moorooka, Queensland has set up an honesty counter where youngsters can take an Ooshie on the condition that they leave one behind.
“It was an idea we had last time they were out to try and help the community a bit, so we thought we’d do it again,” owner Phil Yarnold said.
“Some days we’ll have between 20 and 30 swaps an afternoon and it is marvellous watching it happen. We even had staff coming from Woolies to replenish their stock for their swap day.
“Lots of kids have completed their collections through us – and quite a few big kids as well.
“And if they buy a loaf of bread while they’re swapping, all the better. It’s definitely helped business.”
A Woolworths spokesman said the promotion had sparked a “phenomenal” reaction.
“The response to our Disney Ooshies program has been massive, with millions of customers getting involved nationwide.
“Swap Day last weekend was phenomenal, with thousands of families, kids and passionate collectors coming together in our stores to connect, trade their duplicates and help each other complete their sets. It was so popular that we are bringing it back all over again this Saturday from 12pm-3pm.
“We love seeing the community spirit these events bring out, and we want to thank all of our shoppers for making the day, and the whole Disney Ooshies program, such a fun and successful celebration.”
‘Controversies’
While the promotion has captured the imagination in some parts, it has not proven to be without its controversies.
One such incident revolved around the eBay listing of a rare flocked Bullseye Ooshie, of which only 125 were circulated.
Based on the Toy Story character, the collectable was initially listed for an already excessive $32,100.
A winning bid of an eye-watering $100,000,019.15 was made, but the sale ended in farce and seller Mark Hunter ended up with nothing.
He told Yahoo that all multimillion-dollar bids turned out to be fake.
However, the rare collectables are still regularly appearing on online marketplaces at hugely inflated prices.
The craze has also created havoc on playgrounds, with some schools opting to ban Ooshies in a bid to quell fighting, arguments and thefts.
Among those was Somerset College, an independent primary and secondary on the Gold Coast, which wrote to parents urging them to make sure their kids’ Ooshies are left at home.
Another school, Bellevue Park State School in Queensland, made a similar plea to parents on Facebook.
The school placed an “immediate ban” on the collectables, stating they were causing “distractions, conflict and unfair trading”.
The promotion ends on Tuesday, August 25, but the supermarket giant has warned supplies will likely run out by this weekend.