Spice Girls album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies. That same month the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up million pound sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury's and Polaroid. In December 1996, the group won three trophies at the "Smash Hits" awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, the group released "Wannabe" in the
Spice Girls merchandise and sponsorship deals Spice Girls merchandise and sponsorship deals The Spice Girls are an English pop girl group that first came to international prominence with the release of their chart-topping debut single "Wannabe" in 1996. In 1997, the band became involved in an unprecedented marketing phenomenon, leading to a prolific number of Spice Girls merchandise and sponsorship deals. With the official Spice Girls branding on hundreds of different products, they became the most merchandised group in music history. The Spice Girls brand reportedly produced over £300 million worldwide through merchandise in 1997. Globally, the group's total grosses were estimated to have been $500–800