Where does the meme "___ are us" come from?

Question

Toys are us, robots are us, etc. I see this catch phrase from time to time so there must have been some kind of viral in the past. Any idea what's the original ?

Answer 1

Who ever thought of that name probably thought about that name because toy are what they are, it is what they are selling. to get people to know that toy are what is inside of the store. the past if that name could have been something like "clothes are us or jewelry are us.

Answer 2

people are us? lol idk thats kind of hard.

Answer 3

If I recall correctly, Toys 'R' Us was the first to use this catchphrase back in the late '70s or early '80s.

Answer 4

Chuck Lazarus initially started Toys "R" Us (LTD) in Washington, DC during the post-war baby boom era in 1948 as a baby furniture retailer known as "Childrens Supermart" and later "Children's Bargain Town USA". Its first location was at 2461 18th St, NW, where the nightclub, Madam's Organ Blues Bar is currently located. Lazarus began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. After adding baby toys, he got requests for more mature toys. Eventually, the focus of the store changed and Toys "R" Us as it is known today was born. The original Toys "R" Us store design in the 1970s and 1980s consisted of vertical rainbow stripes and a brown roof with a front entrance and side exit. Some brown roof locations still exist, although some were painted different colors or renovated in recent years. Toys "R" Us is also notable for making its mark in popular culture for being mentioned, parodied, or appearing in movies and TV shows, such as Back to the Future, The Blues Brothers, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Mystery Science Theater 3000 and The Flintstones.



The Bluesmobile races through the Dixie Square Mall, emerging from the Toys "R" Us store on the left side, from The Blues Brothers.

A replica of the Chrysler Building, made entirely of Lego bricks, on display at the Times Square location of Toys "R" Us in New York City.

[edit] The buyout

After several major missteps in the marketplace, mainly precipitated by the removal of one of the Board of Directors, Toys "R" Us experienced difficulty.[citation needed] In an effort to shore up their enterprise, the Board of Directors installed John Eyler, formerly of FAO Schwarz. Eyler launched an unsuccessful, and very expensive plan to remodel and re-launch the chain. Blaming market pressures (primarily competition from Wal-Mart and Target), Toys "R" Us considered splitting its toys and baby businesses. On July 21, 2005, a consortium of Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), and Vornado Realty Trust completed the $6.6 billion acquisition of the toy giant. Public stock closed for the last time at $26.74, just pennies from the 52-week high, but far short of its all time high of almost $45 in fourth-quarter 1993, and its five-year high of $31 in 2Q 2001. Toys "R" Us is now a privately owned entity.