As a big, big fan of Hello Kitty, most people expected that I would have been one of those queueing up on late Wednesday night. They didn’t get why I would only pick up a selected few of the series, yet was not one of those brawling over it. I mean, I collect Hello Kitty figurines, bedsheets, furniture and even home appliances. The pot that I cook my kimchi instant noodles in is a Sanrio original, emblazoned with the famous feline’s face and bow.
So why not the latest Mcdonald’s series?
Here’s the thing. What makes a Hello Kitty valuable to me is the quality. Sure, you can pick up some knockoffs from certain Asian regions, but they never get the head-body ratio right, or the outfits are something Madame Kitty will never be seen in. Maybe the bow is tilted just a bit too far to the left. Something’s always off, and it niggles in your apple-filled mind until you finally get rid of all of said knockoffs.
Even if grown-ups, men and parents will never get it, Hello Kitty is still one of the most iconic, profitable and loved characters today. The reason behind it is very simple: It’s cute. Very cute. The face, bow and even the lack of a smile looks perfect on almost every type of merchandise. That’s why people are unable to resist, forking up to three times the amount of money just for a product that has a cat on it.
This is what I don’t get about the latest Mcdonald’s craze. C’mon guys, it’s not like you haven’t seen this before. And back in 2000, the plush toys looked SO much better.
Remember these? Actual, furry plush bodies.
For these, I can understand (not condone) the smashed glass doors, meals thrown away and insane queues. These toys actually look like they could be sold on a shelf of a Sanrio store, disregarding their limited Macdonald’s costumes, of course. It had quality.
The current ones? I bought the Witch, which was only available via McDelivery, simply because I was a HK fan and having a case of the munchies at 12AM. Yet upon opening the box I was vastly disappointed. It was a far cry from the first collection. But I took it in stride, accepting that it was a promotional tactic and that $4.90 would only get me a exercise book at the Hello Kitty store.
So if you’re one of those still looking to buy the whole collection online, may I suggest you spend all $126,000 dollars you don’t have on this:
Images: Sgag and Freshome
