Debate starts over originality of puppy doll on comedy show

“Brownie, bite!”

A popular puppy doll has fueled a heated debate over its originality. Brownie appears with Mrs. Jeong in the namesake subprogram of “Gag Concert,” a popular Korean comedy show. The debate was caused by Husky, another puppy doll that is claimed to be the original.

Brownie has been chosen to appear Thursday in an advertisement for Bean Pole, a brand of casual clothing of Cheil Industries, for three months with the three comedians in the program, Jeong Tae-ho, Song Byeong-cheol and Kim Dae-seong. According to Cheil Industries, it gave the same treatment to the puppy doll as it does to celebrities. Brownie`s Facebook page has more than 170,000 fans.

Few know, however, that the Brownie on TV is not the same doll that appeared in the early days of the comedy program. The original doll was replaced after Winning InSight Entertainment, which represents Jeong, produced a new puppy doll with Tajo, a retail and marketing company.

Doll makers say the first doll on the program was named “Husky.” The name “Brownie” had been registered as a trademark for a bear doll produced by Morning Glory. This is where curiosity over how Brownie was born has grown.

A quick comparison shows that Husky was born in 1995 and Brownie this year. Both represent a breed of Siberian husky pulling sleds.

Produced by Idol, Husky is 52 centimeters (1-feet-8) tall and Brownie 60 centimeters (1-feet-11). The former costs 57,000 won (52.20 U.S. dollars) while Brownie goes for 75,000 won (68.60 dollars). Husky is produced by many doll makers such as Idol, Toyclub and BBLand, while Brownie is made by Dreamtoy. Brownie is sold publicly as an original product while Husky is treated as a copycat.

A source from the doll-making industry said, “Many doll makers made Siberian husky dolls. A Korean company started to make a copycat of a Siberian husky doll sold in Japan in the early 1990s.”

Idol CEO Seo Beom-seok said, “Gag Concert used our Husky doll for the first two months but now it claims the slightly modified doll is the original.” In response, a source from Tajo, the maker of the Brownie doll, said, “The doll admittedly was modified but it`s impossible to verify whether Idol’s Husky is original.”

yhkang@donga.com