Those with younger children currently in their lives are undoubtedly aware of the stranglehold Bluey has on families. The series isn't just popular with little kids, it's a hit with adults too thanks to an injection of humor that occasionally goes above younger heads and is more tolerable and in line with fun children's TV shows for the whole family. The series is so popular that it's even convinced a hardware store chain to rebrand itself to better reflect an episode of the series.
Bunnings, a hardware store franchise in Australia, is slowly giving several of its stores a kid-friendly makeover, according to 7 News. The stores are being loaded up with Bluey merchandise, and the storefront logo itself is being rebranded as Hammerbarn, the same hardware store the Heeler family goes to in Season 2. For those who need a reminder about their adventure to HammerBarn, the episode can be streamed right now with a Disney+ subscription.
The episode features the family traveling to Hammerbarn so that Bluey's dad, Bandit, can buy an outdoor pizza oven to compete with their neighbor. A bulk of the episode is spent with Bluey and her sister Bingo sitting in the cart and traveling through the store with their mom, Chilli. All of the episodes of Bluey are pretty memorable, but this one is definitely a standout for me personally.
If you're someone who loves Bluey and lives outside of Australia, you might not want to check out the following video. Those who are gluttons for punishment can watch anyway and see all of the cool ways the store was tricked out and how you can actually purchase yard gnomes that resemble the same ones found in the show:
@zach_mander ♬ Sticky Gecko - Bluey
If you're in the United States, this might feel a little bizarre, but Aussies understand the connection. The Hammerbarn from the episode was always based on Bunnings, so this is really a full-circle moment and a golden opportunity for the brand to get kids excited about going to a hardware store. As someone who has no shot of getting to experience this in person, I'm having more FOMO than the time Disney+ temporarily banned the episode where Bandit allegedly farted in Bluey's face.
It's really hard to describe just how popular Bluey is to the modern family. The best example, perhaps, to prove this point is that Charlie Cox, the guy who plays Daredevil on television, cosplayed the Bluey.
Let's not forget he did this at a time when his beloved hero was headed back to television in Daredevil: Born Again. If that isn't a sign this franchise is taking over the world, I'm not sure what is. Perhaps if someone at the Oscars gives a special shoutout to Bluey when accepting their award, the childless mainstream who might not get how important this hardware store story is will better understand just what a cultural phenomenon this show is.
Bluey is available to stream over on Disney+, and readers can check their local listings to see when it airs. Season 3 episodes were added to Disney+ in January, so give those a watch and then randomly bring it up to someone with kids to see how they react.
