I’m sure that almost everyone has seen Hello Kitty, the annoyingly too-cute marketing phenomenon created by the Japanese and now spread all throughout the world. Originally aimed at pre-adolescent girls, the Hello Kitty logo has gone on to adorn products for girls of all ages.
In Japan, Hello Kitty is no longer viewed as merely for young girls, but is equally popular with teenagers and even adults who like the sweet, cute and girly image. This expanded market is reflected by the sale of Hello Kitty adult underwear and even vibrators. Hello Kitty items in the USA include luggage tags, posters, purses, cosmetics, stickers, and jewelry.
Now comes the news that starting next month Japan’s Sanrio Co., the creators of the Hello Kitty brand, will be offering a line of Hello Kitty products targeting young men.
I bet this is going to be Huge in San Francisco.
TOKYO (AP) — Hello Kitty is no sexist.
The cute cuddly white cat from Japan’s Sanrio Co., usually seen on toys and jewelry for girls and young women, will soon don T-shirts, bags, watches and other products targeting young men, company spokesman Kazuo Tohmatsu said Friday.
“We think Hello Kitty is accepted by young men as a design statement in fashion,” he said.
The feline for-men products will go on sale in Japan next month, and will be sold soon in the U.S. and other Asian nations, according to Sanrio.
The usual bubble-headed shape of Hello Kitty was slightly changed for a more rugged, cool look to appeal to men in their teens and early 20s.
For example, a picture of the cat on a $36 black T-shirt has the words, “hello kitty,” instead of the usual dots for the eyes and nose.
Hello Kitty is one of mascot-obsessed Japan’s biggest “character” hits, decorating everything from a humble eraser to a $48,000 diamond necklace.
The planned products mark the first time Sanrio is developing Hello Kitty items especially for males, Tohmatsu said.
But Sanrio had tried a “limited edition” collaboration in men’s clothing with designers in Tokyo’s chic Harajuku section earlier this year, and they proved popular, he said.
“Young men these days grew up with character goods,” said Tohmatsu. “That generation feels no embarrassment about wearing Hello Kitty.”
I just hope that this disgusting fad of mass-marketed gender reassignment stays in Japan. What’s next Barbie dolls for boys? Any father that allows their son to wear or own Hello Kitty products, should have his parental rights revoked.