How SpongeBob SquarePants Became an Icon

Nickelodeon Sponge Bob Pullover Jacket 

Some legends are born, others are made. SpongeBob SquarePants might just be a unique blend of both. Most people have some sort of sentimental relation to the quirky little sponge who ran around Bikini Bottom with his crew, causing trouble and making the best damn crabby patty in the seven seas. Today we want to dive a little deeper into the history of (arguably) one of the most influential cartoons in the past decade.

The show was originally dreamt up by marine scientist educator and animator, Stephen Hillenburg. Coming off an animated Nickelodeon success, Rocko’s Modern Life, he was in prime position to develop a new series with a concept he had been working on since 1989. A lot of the original source material for SpongeBob came from an unpublished educational comic book called The Intertidal Zone that the animator had been developing.

@thekelleyshow rocking his Nickelodeon Spongebob Bomber Jacket 

The public was first introduced to Bikini Bottom and its aquatic residents on July 17, 1999. To say it blew up is a severe understatement. Within the first month it had overtaken Pokémon as the highest rated Saturday-morning children’s series, but Nickelodeon wisely realized it wasn’t just kids who loved the show. They decided to move the time-slots to 6 PM and 8 PM, Monday through Thursday and within a year the show was ranked the highest children’s series on television.

From then on the show has become an absolute pop cultural staple and SpongeBob himself has reached Iconic status. Recently there was even a cutaway clip of SpongeBob in the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show. Talk about a ledged. Touching on themes of friendship, individuality, and imagination there are countless life lessons taught with a unique comedic perspective.

Here are some of our favorite Iconic SpongeBob moments!

Don’t forget to rep the ledged himself with our unisex SpongeBob Pullover Jacket & SpongeBob Bomber!