You know
her name. You’ve seen her signature red ribbon. And even though
you’re curious, you’ve never had the courage to learn more because
you’re not a seven-year old girl. Don’t worry; your secret is safe with
us. To help you out, we’ve come up with a list of everything you’ve
ever wanted to know about Hello Kitty, but were too embarrassed to ask.
1.
The iconic white cat is the primary spokesanimal for Sanrio, a Japanese
company started in the 1950s to sell silk and produce.
In the
1960s, they expanded their product line to include items that catered to
the gift-giving tradition in Japan – usually small, simple objects that
can be given to a friend for special occasions, holidays, or even
everyday things like visiting their house. Most of Sanrio’s items at
the time, like pencil cases and stickers, were geared towards elementary
school kids and, almost by accident, they discovered that adding cute
little designs and characters helped sales. When one of the in-house
designers came up with Hello Kitty, the best thing company founder
Shintaro Tsuji could say was that he liked it well enough.
2. Despite everyone calling her Hello Kitty, her name is actually Kitty White.
There is some debate as to how she got her nickname, though one theory
points to her 1974 debut on a clear coin purse with her picture under
the word “Hello.” Teenage girls were immediately drawn to “the Hello
Kitty,” and the purse became a best-seller.
3. In Taiwan, there’s a Hello Kitty Hospital!
bed sheet is branded with Hello Kitty, as are the nurses’
uniforms. A giant Kitty statue greet guests in the lobby. According to a
2008 Reuters report, twice a year, people in character costumes come
around and entertain patients.
4. Today, there are around 50 Sanrio characters gracing over 22,000 officially-license products.
On average, the company introduces three new characters every year,
while at the same time taking a handful out of circulation for a little
while so they don’t oversaturate the market. All told, Sanrio’s annual
sales hover around $5 billion dollars.
5. Hello Kitty and her pals are part of the kawaii (“cute”) subculture of Japan.
“Kawaisa” (“cuteness”) appeared on the cultural landscape in the 1970s,
when teenage girls began adding hearts, rainbows, and smiley faces to
their writing, and even spoke in a sort of baby talk manner. This fad
caused quite a bit of controversy among adults, but was adopted by
companies so they could connect with young people just as they were
becoming a force in the consumer market. As people realized kawaisa
wasn’t going to bring the downfall of society, it became accepted and is
now integral to Japanese culture.
6. There are a couple of urban legends about her origins that add a sinister connotation to Hello Kitty.
One story says that a controversial nuclear power plant hired Sanrio to
create a cute corporate mascot that would help soften their image.
Another legend tells of a married couple whose only daughter was sick
with cancer. In exchange for her recovery, the parents made a pact with
the Devil that they would create a character in Satan’s honor that
would be adored worldwide. As you might have guessed, neither of these
is true.
7.
In 2007, it was announced that police in Bangkok would be forced to
wear bright pink Hello Kitty armbands as punishment for minor
infractions.
The plan was soon abandoned—according to NBC
News, “There was a rebellion in the macho ranks, as well as outrage on
Hello Kitty websites.”
8. She’s a clean slate!
Hello Kitty and many other Sanrio characters were designed without a
mouth so that the character could take on whatever emotions the viewer
needs them to have at the time. Some believe this is part of the reason
they’re so popular across generations and cultures – anyone can relate
to them. (It’s also one of the things that Kitty haters say creeps them
out the most.)
9. She looks suspiciously similar to a certain white rabbit.
Almost since her introduction, children’s author and illustrator Dick
Bruna has insisted that Hello Kitty and her pals resembled the design of
his own cute creation, Miffy. First published in 1955 — nearly 20
years before Hello Kitty’s debut — Miffy is a white rabbit with an oval
head, small, black eyes and a tiny “X” for a mouth. Still, Bruna never
officially challenged the designs until 2010, when he sued Sanrio for
its character, Cathy, a white rabbit that is Hello Kitty’s best friend.
The timing was a bit strange, considering Cathy was introduced in 1976
and has been featured on thousands of products over the last 35 years,
but the courts still ruled in Bruna’s favor. Sanrio is appealing the
decision, but for the time being, they’re banned from selling Cathy
merchandise in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
10. Hello Kitty has been featured in over a dozen video games, including her latest, Hello Kitty Online,
a free massively multiplayer role playing game in the same vein as
World of Warcraft.
Players can adventure alone or join guilds to complete quests like
finding all the ingredients for a special soup, delivering a pizza
before it gets cold, or collecting wands that can be used to defeat
monsters that guard treasure. There’s also the opportunity to build
your own house, raise crops, adopt a pet, and customize your character’s
wardrobe. For some of these perks, you’ll need to earn Sanrio Loyalty
Points by posting videos, writing blog posts, and completing quizzes on
Sanriotown.com. Or you can spend real money to buy Loyalty Points at an
exchange rate of 80 points for a $1. To give you some idea of the
price, a typical in-game house costs about $5, not including furniture,
which is, of course, sold separately.
11. She’s not just for kids.
While most Hello Kitty products are made for children, as the brand’s
customers have gotten older, Sanrio has catered to them with more
adult-oriented products. For example, Fender guitars has featured a
Hello Kitty Stratocaster, Neiman Marcus recently carried a collection of
Hello Kitty jewelry with a top price of $5,000, Dr. Marten boots is
currently selling a line of Sanrio shoes, and there are even Airbus
airplanes with her image plastered on the side. There are also two
high-end boutiques called Sanrio Luxe in New York’s Times Square and in
Manila, Philippines, which feature exclusive, expensive, rhinestoned-out
products.
This shift to more adult products has been a bit
controversial, though. Hello Kitty thongs, Hello Kitty Wine, and a
“Hello Kitty Massage Wand” (AKA The Hello Kitty Vibrator), have been
popular with adult female fans, but have been frowned upon by those who
feel the brand should remain focused on its youngest followers instead.
12. Then there are the unofficial products.
Of course you can’t be this popular without a few people jumping on the
bandwagon. There are thousands of unofficial Hello Kitty products,
like Hello Kitty bongs, Hello Kitty gas masks, and Hello Kitty handguns
and assault rifles. There’s even a Hello Kitty-themed S&M room at
one of Japan’s “love hotels,” where Japanese couples can rent a room by
the hour for private encounters. Sanrio has tried to stop some of these
copyright infringements, but there are so many that it’s virtually
impossible to keep up.
13. Hello Kitty has quite a political career.
She has been a UNICEF ambassador to the United States since 1983 and to
Japan since 1994. Then, in 2008, she was appointed as the official
Japanese ambassador of tourism to both Hong Kong and China, the first
fictional character to hold this title.
14. If you’re a Scottish Sanrio fan, you can get a kilt made using the Hello Kitty tartan.
The pink plaid pattern was designed by Lochcarron of Scotland, the
world’s leading manufacturer of tartans, and was officially recognized
by the the Scottish Register of Tartans in 2004.
It's
got plenty of practical messenger bag features, like extra compartments
for all the stuff teens carry with them. And the iPad stays secure on
its own side with a velcro closure so if you forget to snap the top
magnetic snap, the tablet won't tumble to the ground. This bag has good
padding which will help protect it as it goes from class to
class--though it's no Otterbox, so try to pick it up off the floor, for goodness sake.