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 Spice Girls, the show began previews at the Piccadilly Theatre, London on 27 November 2012 and had its Press Night on 11 December 2012 and features some of the group's biggest hit songs including "Wannabe", "Spice Up Your Life" and the eponymous "Viva Forever". In 1997, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific merchandising phenomenon, becoming the most merchandised group in music history with estimated earnings of over £300 million from their merchandising and endorsement deals that year alone. They negotiated lucrative deals with many brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of "selling out"