[1] The brand began as a result of a promotional tie-in with the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York; the most well-known product was the Deluxe Talkboy, a cassette recorder and player with a variable-speed voice changer that caused toy crazes over several holiday shopping seasons beginning in 1993.

The company was given permission by the movie studio to sell a retail version of the toy, and it released two cassette recorders modeled after the film prop in 1992 and 1993, respectively.

Retailers had severely underestimated demand, and as a result the Deluxe Talkboy was one of the most highly sought-after toys during the 1993 holiday shopping season, selling out of stores across the United States.

The success of the Talkboy cassette recorders spawned a product line of electronic sound novelty toys, including a phone, walkie talkies, and a radio.

For subsequent recording devices, Tiger transitioned to digital technology, using solid-state storage and adding sound effects, beginning with Talkboy/Talkgirl F/X+ pens in 1995, which sold more than a million units in 45 days.

[2][4][5] Originally, writer John Hughes specified in his script only that a futuristic recording device would be needed;[5] he and the film's distributor 20th Century Fox wanted something that was realistic yet appeared to be cutting edge.

[5] Overfield knew the company's co-founder and executive vice president Roger Shiffman from a previous licensing deal for the cartoon Bobby's World.

[4][5] Shiffman was persuaded to sign a deal to produce Home Alone 2's toys, which also included "Monster Sap" spraying goo and a screaming backpack, with the promise of escalating royalty payments that would limit the risk to Tiger Electronics.

[6] Hughes's original concept in the script was for Kevin "to have a gun", but Shiffman thought it was impractical since the character would need to travel with it through O'Hare International Airport in the movie.

As part of the campaign,[8] Tiger was given permission by 20th Century Fox to sell a retail version of Talkboy in stores,[9] with Shiffman negotiating a "modest royalty" to build the brand.

[3][11] Complicating matters for Tiger, the company heard from retailer Toys "R" Us that many parents were complaining about their kids finding coarse language recorded on their newly purchased Talkboys.

Although the cassette tape that was included with each unit was initially blank, the toy's packaging featured a "try me" element that allowed recording in stores but was being abused.

[4] Interest in Talkboy grew after the July 27 release of Home Alone 2 on VHS,[5] which included an advertising insert that confirmed the toy was a real product; 10 million copies of the movie sold by December.

[13] Exact sales figures were not released, but Tiger spokespeople said in December that it had sold "hundreds of thousands" of Talkboys while facing demand for around 2 million units.

[3][15] One caller claimed to represent Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and said he needed four Talkboys; after consulting Tiger's lawyers, Rosenberg agreed to accommodate him in exchange for autographed CDs.

[15] By mid-December, the retailer had been out of stock of the toy for a "couple of weeks" and confirmed any additional shipments would not go onto store shelves due to their commitment to fulfill rain checks.

[15] The company's manufacturing plants in Hong Kong were running 24 hours a day to produce Talkboys in an attempt to keep up with demand,[12] and daily air shipments were being delivered overnight across the United States.

[35] In March 1997, Tiger began a year-long promotion with Nabisco to place offers for Talkboy F/X+ toys on 30 million packages of Oreos, Chips Ahoy!, Nutter Butters, and Ritz Bits, along with a million-dollar television advertisement campaign.