'The poo caught us by surprise': Emoji toy popular at Calgary Stampede

Stampede admission deal and fecal hats? Alesia Fieldberg reports live from Stampede Park on the popular poo emoji hats and an admission deal at the gates

It’s a fun trend that Calgary Stampede midway vendors certainly aren’t wrinkling their noses at this year.

A stuffed toy modelled after the popular ‘smiling poo’ emoji has taken the midway park by storm, much to the surprise of vendors.

The stuffed toys, which also come in the form of a hat, are a popular prize at the Calgary stampede this year.

“You can use them as pillows,” said one young ‘poo’ prize winner.

Market research helps organizers decide which prizes to choose. Stampede’s midway game company was skeptical at first, but ended up having to order more. When it comes to prizes, vendors say, when given a choice, customers almost always choose the poo.

“The poo caught us by surprise,” said Tony Cassata, operations manager for Bob’s Space Racer. “I didn’t order enough but I had to go back and get a shipment brought up here quickly, so we’re in good shape for the rest of the Stampede.”

Now, organizers say 65 per cent of the prizes this year are modelled after the smiling poo emoji.

It shouldn’t be a huge surprise in Canada.

Last year, a report by SwiftKey showed Canadians topped the world in the use of the ‘poo smiley' face emoji.

The ‘poo’ emoji is so popular, partway through Stampede some midway games have also been altered to incorporate the character.

With a report by CTV Calgary’s Alesia Fieldberg