History of Sesame Street "phenomenon" until Clash took over the role in 1985. Eventually, Elmo became, as Davis reported, "the embodiment" of "Sesame Street", and "the marketing wonder of our age" when five million "Tickle Me Elmo" dolls were sold in 1996. Clash believed the "Tickle Me Elmo" phenomenon made Elmo a household name and led to the "Elmo's World" segment. Michael Jeter was a favorite with younger audiences in his role as Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle on Sesame Street from 1999 to 2003. In 2002, "Sesame Street"s producers went further in changing the show to reflect its younger demographic, fundamentally changing the
Elmo's World changed to fit the segment. Writer Louise Gikow and "The New York Times" called it "a show within a show". Clash called it "a playdate between the child and Elmo", and felt that its intimacy provided an effective teaching tool. He also called it "an instant success". Davis compared "Elmo's World" with the long-running children's TV show "Peewee's Playhouse". The CTW, as it has done throughout its existence and for all the shows it produced, conducted extensive studies on "Elmo's World". They found that the segment had high appeal for children, regardless of their age, sex, and socioeconomic background. Attention