User blog comment:Mobo85/Signs of the "Times": Two Major Newspapers Cover Phineas and Ferb Marketing Machine/@comment-406459-20100624004639

I think the use of the phrase "the new SpongeBob" is more of a metaphor, in that, besides both shows having a similarly quirky premise and style of humor, much like SpongeBob when it first debuted, Phineas and Ferb has a loyal fanbase in its target audience, but is gradually becoming more well-known showing up in different places. By now, SpongeBob is as well-known as Mickey Mouse. In a few years, if Disney's hypotheses come true, the same thing can probably be said about Phineas and Ferb. (I think part of SpongeBob's decline came from the fact that the creative team changed over the course of the series. And coincidentially, a number of those former creative team members- including Sherm Cohen, Kaz, and Dan Povenmire- now work on Phineas and Ferb.)