Sanrio-a-Go-Go

As I woke up the day of my meteorology and statistics finals, the steady patter of water on my windows informed me that it was raining.

I finally I had my chance, I was going to take it!

The chance, that is, to bring out the rainboots. Oh, and not just any rainboots.

Say hello to my little friends.



That's right. They're pink. They're featuring Hello Kitty. And they're mine.

So, armed with the rubber shoes and an umbrella, I set off for my finals, happily splashing in the puddles while other students in sneakers, ballet flats or ugh, pointy-toed heels, carefully avoided the muddy water. I made a point of it to walk through the grass, the mud, and sometimes the muddy grass. These boots and me, we were made for adventure.

Finally, I got to my meteorology class and one of my classmates eyed my feet and said, "Huh."

"What?" I replied, shaking the water off my umbrella and setting it against the wall.

"Nothing," he shrugged, "I just, well, I just never pegged you as the Hello Kitty type," and he went back to reading.

Not the "Hello Kitty type?" Not the "Hello Kitty type?!" I was agog, and somewhat aghast. What did he mean by that? I considered asking him but he was a little absorbed by the reading material (that's not a pun.) I'm assuming that he meant that because I'm neither a five-year old girl with pigtails, nor am I a frequent giggler who bakes rainbows and sunshine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These are common stereotypes of fans of this little white cat and I'm writing this post to say: hey, there's more to Sanrio than that!

For those of you who had been living under a rock on Mars for the past few decades, Hello Kitty, along with her boyfriend Dear Daniel (also a cat), and friends My Melody (a rabbit), Badtz Maru (a bad-boy penguin) and other animals, are the mascots of the Japanese stationary supply, gift and accessory powerhouse known as Sanrio. Hello Kitty is decidedly the most popular and famous of the bunch, and is often depicted doing things such as baking treats, dressing up in costumes, visiting foreign countries, or just having fun with her friends.

She's a gamer, too.

According to the Sanrio website:
"Sanrio was invented in 1960 by Mr. Shintaro Tsugi. Mr. Tsugi created a line of merchandise designed around gift-giving occasions."

Also from the website, there are reportedly more than 4,000 Sanrio stores in America today. In fact, the first Sanrio store in America was the one in the Eastridge Mall of good ol' San Jose, CA! Score one for the cute! Sanrio products are not only in specialty stores, but also sell in mass market outlets such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Payless Shoes as well.

Hello Kitty markets cuteness, yes, but that doesn't mean their target consumers have to necessarily reflect their product perse. Hello Kitty and her friends bring a sense of adorable and lovable sensibility to everyday things such as wallets, keychains, luggage sets, and school supplies. While mostly catering to the audience of young girls, elementary school age and younger, Sanrio creates products for young women as well. For example, Hello Kitty is featured on kitchen supplies such as plastic tubs and silverware, but also on toasters, sandwich makers, and coffee pots. She even has an electric guitar with her picture on it!

Rock on, pussy cat, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...

What makes Sanrio different than the competition (Disney, or even Barbie) is its diversity of characters. The character list for Sanrio is so high that they even have to retire some characters (of cours, the Kitty stays) in order to refresh the market. Points in case are Keroppi, a green frog, and Pochocco, a beagle similar to Snoopy. (Coincidentally, Sanrio gift stores also sometimes carry items with characters from Peanuts, as well as Sesame Street.) Once again, while Mickey, Goofy and Donald can appeal to both boys and girls, while the Sanrio company is predominantly based on the female market, its pervasiveness in marketing and advertising is nonetheless just as equal. The mere fact that my classmate, a guy, could even recognize that the cat on my boots was Hello Kitty further illustrates this point. So, as far as I see it, saying to someone, "You're not the Hello Kitty type" is like saying, "You're not the Mickey Mouse type," or "You're not the type to buy things with cartoon charcters" type, even.

We miss you, buddy!

So, yeah, I may not wear pink every day. I may not dot the 'i's' in my name with hearts or giggle infectiously when someone says something mildly interesting. I don't even bake pastries that often.

But mess with Hello Kitty... and you'll get the claws.