Best. Idea. Ever. In an act of pure simplistic genius, music fan Patrick Misterovich of Springfield, Missouri invented PEZ MP3, which, as the name implies, is a PEZ dispenser with built in MP3 player. Holding 512 MB (about 120 songs or so) and run on a single AAA battery, it's activated by a flip of the PEZ's head and even comes pre-loaded with music from some amazing indie bands (Smoosh, the Icicles). The concept is a brilliant head-on collision of pop culture, from competing generations, combining the oh-so-2005 iPod/MP3 player with the simplicity of a candy-dispensing head, mounted adorably on a stick of plastic. Patrick takes some time out from his busy one-man PEZ music operation to talk about his invention.
When you first started, did you design the player first, then contact the PEZ corporate office? Or did you wait for their approval before proceeding?
I contacted PEZ within five minutes of coming up with the idea. I always thought the key to it, for me at least, was that you should be able to confuse it with a PEZ dispenser. I sent PEZ an email and asked if they licensed their brand for consumer electronics. They sent me to the agency that handles their licensing. It was less than a couple hours from the conception of the idea to getting an email back saying, "Sounds interesting, tell us more." Of course, it took about six months to finalize the licensing contract.
On paper the concept seems pretty out there, but once you see the player, it makes more sense. Did you come across a lot of naysayers in the early stages of making the players?
You know, I didn't run into too many naysayers. If anything, I started to get nervous because so many people seemed to like the idea. Sometimes you need some of that negative energy to feel righteous so that you can prove those naysayers wrong.
Any thought to doing a line of band "heads," with the likeness of each member being it's own dispenser/player? Or is that just a licensing nightmare?
I think doing band heads is a very cool idea. PEZ is such a unique platform. There are a lot of directions that would be very fun to pursue but it is important to remember that PEZ spent 50 years building their brand and they have every right to veto ideas that don't fit with where they want to go.
When you first approached the bands who are on the player, where they skeptical of the concept?
Mainly they were all very excited to be part of it. I have to say that when I started looking for music I wasn't sure what I would find. I didn't know if they would be interested and I didn't know if I would find good music. But honestly, I was blown away by the quality of music out there and I was blown away by their willingness to share their music. I feel better about the future of music than I did six months ago.
