Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television network which was launched on December 1st, 1977 as the first cable channel for children. It is owned by Viacom through its Viacom Media Networks division's Nickelodeon Group unit and is based in New York City. It broadcasts usually from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays (the
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The Logo of Nickelodeon since 2021.
sign off time varies with holidays and special programming), Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time). It is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 2–17.
With their strong presence in television, Nickelodeon has produced many balloons and floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
The first network for kids made their first contribution to the parade in 1981, when the cast of Pinwheel performed on the Circus Wagon. The cast would appear again for the 1982 procession.
In 1991, costumed characters of Batley the Bat from Eureeka's Castle, Doug Funnie from Doug, and Stimpy from The Ren and Stimpy Show marched along the Parade route.
Six years later in 1997, a balloon in the likeness of the Rugrats made its debut. The balloon shows Tommy and Chuckie riding on their dog, Spike. They also became one of the seven giant balloons that year to make it through the whole parade route despite the heavy winds. In 2000, a French beret was put on Tommy's head to promote the second movie of the franchise, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie. They would make appearances until 2001 when they retired.
Two years later, in 1999, they would sponsor everyone's favorite dog with a clue, Blue from the hit educational children's show Blue's Clues. Along with this, a Blue's Clues mini float would accompany the balloon. Both of them made subsequent appearances until 2002, where they retired when the show was starting to decline in popularity. The Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper figures were displayed at the old parade studio, but it's unknown what happened to the others. A decade later in 2019, she got a falloon based off the reboot, Blue's Clues and You!. It featured a giant, sparkly inflatable of Blue herself, with the new host, Josh Dela Cruz, performing on it.
Two more years later, the boy genius Jimmy Neutron would take to the skies in 2001 to promote his movie Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, blasting down the streets of Manhattan in hopes of finding new discoveries. He made two more appearances in 2002 (to promote his show The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius) and 2003 before being retired.
The following year in 2002, they brought in the first African-American balloon, Little Bill, as he waves to the crowd. In 2003, Nickelodeon hosted sweepstakes, with some of the prizes being a Thanksgiving getaway to New York, a Thanksgiving dinner, and tickets to the 2003 Parade. He was retired in 2004 and is unlikely to return due to many Bill Cosby controversies.
The company's next balloon would be of Bikini Bottom's optimistic underwater sea-dweller, SpongeBob SquarePants. He's had the most variants than any of their other characters and has become one of the longest-running characters in the parade's history. He first soaked up the crowd's admirations in 2004, and made appearances until 2006, but was brought back a year later in 2008, appearing more until 2012, when it was retired because of his old age. The following year, he was given a new balloon showing him jumping in a Santa hat, debuting in 2013. He became Macy's Holiday Ambassador of the 2014 Parade, and plushies of him were sold at certain Macy's stores. It was retired after 2018, and he got yet another balloon in 2019, where he's joined by his pet, Gary the Snail, which still makes appearances as of 2024. The 2024 parade marked the one-time appearance of a new specialty unit, the Garriage, which was created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Another year later would feature the young Latino girl, Dora the Explorer. She saw her first adventure in 2005, joined by Backpack and Map. She would continue until 2009 when she was retired. However, she got a float-based upon the special Dora's Christmas Carol in 2010, which was later retired in 2013. And the year after came a float of her spin-off show Dora and Friends: Into the City, which retired that same year in the 2014. She would return a decade later to the parade in 2024, with a new novelty balloon and mini float, both based on the reboot of the show, simply titled Dora.
Then in 2012, a new float would feature the pizza-loving heroes in a half shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It showed their hometown, with various telephone wires, billboards, buildings, and more scattered around it, and the ninja lair. The turtles themselves were also placed around the float. It retired shortly after 2017 due to the show ending and it was replaced by a new float based on the more modern show, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2018, which put a new twist on the previous float with more stylized designing. The second float was retired after the 2020 Parade.
In 2017, a new balloon was made, of the police dog from the PAW Patrol, Chase. He's depicted with his pup pack ejecting a net, reminding us that "no job is too big, no pup is too small." He was retired following 2023. In 2024, Nickelodeon would debut a new balloon of PAW Patrol's firefighter dog Marshall, who will be replacing fellow rescue pup Chase.
That same year, in 2017, a float was made of the show, Shimmer and Shine. It featured the two main protagonists, Shimmer and Shine, riding a magic carpet above their world, Zahramay Falls, with some other characters placed around the float. The float was retired shortly after the 2019 Parade due to the cancellation of the show in early 2020.
In 2021, Nickelodeon sponsored the Papa Smurf balloon. He was brought back to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Smurfs series, and for the promotion of the new 2021 reboot that aired on their channel. He appeared again in 2022 before being retired yet again.
In 2022, the Pinkfong Company partnered with Nickelodeon and Macy's to debut the iconic Baby Shark as a float and balloon combo.
In 2023, Nickelodeon and Macy's debuted two floats to promote new movies that Nickelodeon released. A third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles float to promote Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and a complete replica of Good Burger's Burgermobile to promote Good Burger 2 on Paramount+. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles float would be refurbished into one based off the TV show Tales of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The following year in 2024. The Burgermobile would be retired following its initial apperance.