| Tuzki | |
|---|---|
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| Created by | Momo Wang |
Tuzki (Chinese:兔斯基;Korean:투즈키;Japanese:ツヅキ) is a popular illustrated bunny character created by animator Momo Wang[1] when she was an undergraduate at theCommunication University of China (CUC). Featured in a variety ofemoticons, her character has become popular withQQ andMSN users. Nowadays, Tuzki has extended his emoticon popularity to different major messaging app platforms includingWeChat,KakaoTalk,Facebook andVNG Corporation's Zalo.
According to the official website, Tuzki was born on 6 September 2006.[2]
Tuzki is currently managed byTurnOut Ventures, a joint venture betweenTurner Broadcasting andOutblaze established in Hong Kong in 2008.
According to a post on Tuzki's officialFacebook page,[3] there are over 20 million sends of Tuzki stickers worldwide every day.
In 2007,Motorola used the Tuzki images to promote itsMotorola Q9hsmartphone inAsia, touting itsInternet andinstant messaging capabilities.
In January 2013, during a premium campaign byKFC China, over 9.5 million units of Tuzki premium figurines were distributed nationwide in China at more than 3,000 KFC restaurants.[4]
In March 2013, the Tuzki edition of theFujifilmInstax mini camera and films was launched in China.
TurnOut Ventures premiered Tuzki: Love Assassin[5] onYouTube on 13 February 2014 as a Valentine's Day stunt for Tuzki fans. It was written and directed by Julian Frost, the creator of the viral animationDumb Ways to Die. The animation was produced byStudio 4°C.
An image of Tuzki: Love Assassin was displayed on the Thomson Reuters building in Times Square in New York City from 14-18 February 2014.[6]
In July 2014,Facebook launched Tuzki stickers onFacebook Messenger, which quickly became one of the most frequently used stickers by Facebook users. In September, Facebook Japan announced the top 10 most popular sticker sets in Japan and Tuzki was on the list.[7] By popular demand, Facebook launched the second set of Tuzki stickers in December.
In April 2015, Tuzki was featured on theFinancial Times.[8] The article talked about the success of Tuzki in China and how he had become a surprise hit with millennials around the world.[citation needed]
On March 22, 2018,Six Flags and Riverside Investment Group announced that they had partnered withTurner to bring Tuzki and other Turner IPs to its upcoming theme parks in China.[9]
On April 20, 2021, it was announced there will be a crossover between Tuzki and the Indian animated seriesLamput.[10] The episode, "Lamput meets Tuzki", was released on August 3, 2021. AnotherLamput episode featuring Tuzki, titled "Tuzki the Intern", was released on June 16, 2024.