The History of the Hello Kitty Vibrator

[norml]

The History of the Hello Kitty Vibrator
Peter Payne

Sanrio is one of the top character licensors in the world, having more or less created the business model of doing business by creating something that doesn't really exist and licensing its use to other companies. Sanrio produces nothing -- all their characters, like the Little Twin Star, Minna no Ta-bo, Bad Batz-Maru, exist as legal entities and nothing more. Their most successful character, Hello Kitty, or Kitty-chan as she's known in Japan, is now now thirty years old.








One of the many companies that license Sanrio's characters for their products was a Japanese company called Genyo Co. Ltd. Genyo made a wide variety of products, from bento boxes to children's toys to chopsticks, many with the Hello Kitty character on them. They scored big in the late 1990's with an off-the-wall hit, a series of Hello Kitty toys which featured a different Kitty figure from each of Japan's 47 prefectures, each representing something the prefecture was famous for. (The figure from Gunma Prefecture, where we live, represented a wooden kokeshi doll.)



snip










http://www.jmate.com/features/article_3.html

[tammywammy]

1. That's just wrong

:rofl:

[Radio_Lady]

4. I want a Hello Kitty vibrator -- nothing wrong with that! It'll sell --

on eBay for maybe more than that cheese sandwich with the Virgin Mary!

[Radio_Lady]

2. That's a pretty offbeat article -- and a new web site for Asian lady loves

[candle_bright]

3. Pedophile sounding to me.

Why are you posting it here?

[norml]

6. The package says it's a "shoulder massager".

And I'm a Hello Kitty fan.

[candle_bright]

8. That's why you called it a vibrator

right? 'Cause you were thinking "massager."

This is targeted at kids.

[norml]

9. It's called both a "vibrator" and a "massager" in the article.

I think it's unlikely that it was targeted to sell to kids. It looks like it was being bought by adults. It struck me as funny. I didn't think about it much beyond that.

[candle_bright]

10. I think you DO know

but now you are playing dumb.

You chose your words ("vibrator" versus "massager"), you chose to post this in the first place, and you know Hello Kitty has always been and is for children.

[norml]

12. You'd be surprised how many adults collect Hello Kitty stuff.

I send Sanrio E-cards all the time.

[candle_bright]

14. Perhaps

I grew up in Hawaii, where Hello Kitty was for kids, popular in the 70s.

I find it hard to believe that just because the mainland U.S. took a decade or two to catch up to Japanese chic they wouldn't know kid-stuff when they see it.

[norml]

16. The first I ever became aware of Hello Kitty was with the Yahoo E-cards

That was in 2000, when I first got online. Before that, I'd never heard of Sanrio, or Hello Kitty. I'm not a collector. I just like to send their E-cards.

[Bouncy Ball]

19. Hello Kitty is not just for kids.

I love it. Dare I say it, I own a few Hello Kitty items. They're mine, not my daughters. Including a little stuffed Hello Kitty. I don't put them out on display or anything, but I love that stuff.

I'm 34.

[catzies]

22. It should be no surprise that I agree with you Bouncy Ball

;)

BTW, I'm 42. :P

[Modem Butterfly]

25. I have a Hello Kitty coffee thermos

The last time I was at a Hello Kitty store, they even had a Hello Kitty laptop and a display about a special edition Hello Kitty car (I want to say it was a Subaru).

[catzies]

27. I've seen the Hello Kitty Honda Civic (real) and a Ferrari (photoshopped)

I love cute lil Hello Cthulhu!

[liontamer]

21. hello kitty vibrators are targeted towards adults

particularly hipster adults who think anything kitchy is funny. Lots of vibrators come with cute designs, adults lilke cute things too.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

30. My wife LOVES Hello Kitty stuff too. (nt)

[Modem Butterfly]

24. I'm 33 years old, and I have waaaay too much Hello Kitty stuff

My boss is 45, and she likes it too. She even brought in a pattern for a Hello Kitty knitted bag and asked me to make her one. If you've ever been in a Sanrio store, you know that much of their stuff is marketed at adults, like this Hello Kitty DVD player:

http://store1.yimg.com/I/sanriostore_1840_4684949

The Hello Kitty cell phone:

http://store.yahoo.com/sanriostore/60255.html

And the Hello Kitty Hot and Cold Storage Box:

http://store.yahoo.com/sanriostore/60255.html

You'll notice that this Hello Kitty t-shirt is sold in adult sizes:

http://store.yahoo.com/sanriostore/81451.html

There seems to be a whole lot of us Hello Freakys out there.

[bicentennial_baby]

32. I collect all things Hello Kitty

and I'm 28...so there.

[asthmaticeog]

33. I don't know a single kid

who gives two shits for Hello Kitty, but I know plenty of adults who collect the stuff obsessively.

[progmom]

17. Most people I know who like Hello Kitty

...are adults.

I don't think the OP had an ulterior motives here. It's a funny story.

[mockmonkey]

20. How many Adults

collect Beanie Babys? I collect Hello Kitty crap and I'm an adult (mostly) and my b/f collects Garfield stuff.

*wonders what perversion you would link me to because of my Hello Kitty toilet seat cover*

I'm not going to try to understand Japanese culture when I can't even figure out our own.

[Kipepeo]

11. I know an adult who has one - i've never thought it might be

directed at kids - since most of the hello-kitty merchandise-owning people I know are all adults - whether it's car-seat covers or fucking hello-kitty stickers on all of their belongings. It's like a cult for some people!! :)

btw, there are several us states that are not allowed to sell vibrators and they must market them as "massagers."

[Bouncy Ball]

18. Hey! Hello Kitty's been around long enough that I had Hello Kitty

stuff as a kid (I am 34) and I wouldn't mind owning that! I think it's hilarious and DOUBTFUL that it's some kind of pedophile thing.

Sheesh. :eyes:

[Radio_Lady]

7. "Pedophile sounding" ???

Not until they make one that looks like Michael Jackson!

[onager]

13. Welcome to the interesting parts of Japanese culture!

The Japanese have a name for their schoolgirl fetish, buru-sera. The term buru-sera comes from the word buru, which is the Japanese term for 'bloomers' (IE. panties)' and sera, meaning 'sailor' from the standard Japanese schoolgirl outfit.

Japan equates youthful innocence with eroticism, a notion supported by the hundreds of buru-sera magazines in print in Japan, most of which feature young models dressed as schoolgirls giving readers (viewers) tantalizing looks at their cotton unmentionables.

It was even a short-lived trend to sell panties in vending machines along with a photo of the girl that wore them...

http://www.tapanime.com/info/seifuku.html

They're not making this up. I've been to Japan several times. Those schoolgirl-panty magazines are all over the place, and are sold at the newsstands just like any other publication.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

29. FUNNIEST post of the day!

Thanks for the laugh!

Oh wait, you're serious... :scared:

[SarahB]

31. Ever see the rubber ducky vibrators?

http://www.goodvibes.com/cgi-bin/sgin0102.exe?FNM=52&T1=1+2+AH+0207&UID=2005040714402595&UREQA=5&UREQB=4&UREQC=3&TRAN85=N

[porkrind]

5. Does Dil Do'lielly have one to go with his loofah?

[norml]

15. I think it would be a great idea to make one with his likeness on it.

A whole series of them could be made.

[Modem Butterfly]

23. Next thing you know, they'll have Hello Cthulhu vibrators.

[Susang]

34. Will this do?

WARNING!!! DO NOT CLICK ON LINK IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED!!!

http://www.divine-interventions.com/index2.php

[spinbaby]

26. Have you seen the Hello Kitty theme park?

Seriously.

http://www.sanrio.co.jp/english/spl/spl.html

[catzies]

28. If I ever get to Japan I'm going straight there!

n/t