I have
always believed Singaporeans to be one of the most, level headed,
matter of fact thinking and rationally behaving human beings on
earth, who can never get swayed with emotional appeals, blackmails
and that kind of stuff. The only thing that probably moves them to
make an effort to reach even the end of the world is when something
is available on sale there or they find that it is cheaper at that
place.
I
could not therefore believe my own eyes, when I saw photographs of
hundreds of people standing in queues at midnight in front of
McDonald fast food joints island wide. Now let me explain!
Singaporeans, particularly families, always have their dinner around
7 PM and usually retire by 10 PM or so. At this ghastly hour of
midnight, when these people were seen standing in queues, most of the
genuine Singaporeans normally should have been in their bed. Yet on
night of 26th June 2013, after forgoing their sleep, they
were still crowding McDonald joints, even when it was past midnight.
If I
tell you the reason for this, you are sure to believe that these
Singaporeans have gone crazy. But No! These are ordinary, rational
people, who lead their lives in a very normal way. The reason for
this craziness was an announcement by McDonald management sometime
back, that they would be offering a new toy at great discount along
with the purchase of a meal. This fast food chain, always gifts small
toys when a customer orders child meals. These are small plastic toys
like cars or funny creatures, which children love to have. But this
new toy was special. McDonald called it “Singing Bone” Black
Hello Kitty and had announced that they would be offering this toy
from midnight of 26th June at a fantastic discount. Only 4
toys would be given maximum for a customer. The toy was a limited
edition and would not be available again.
Now
what the hell is this Hello Kitty? May be some of my young readers
might have a reason to feel offended, but I so far knew only Micky's, Barney's and
Barbie's of this world that dominate the children's rooms all over. I
turned back to Wikipedia and realized that my ignorance was just
unpardonable. Hello Kitty happens to be one of the most favourite toy
for kids, particularly girls, from all over the world.
A
Japanese company, Sanrio, which sold rubber sandals with flowers
painted on them, realized in 1962 that they could make great profits
by adding a cute design to the sandals and hired cartoonists to
design cute characters for his merchandise. As a result, the company
produced a line of character merchandise around gift-giving
occasions. A part of this product line, Hello Kitty was designed by
Yuko Shimizu and was added to the lineup of early Sanrio characters
in 1974. The character's first appearance was on an item was a vinyl
coin purse in Japan where she was pictured sitting between a bottle
of milk and a goldfish bowl. She first appeared in the United States
in 1976. After that there was no stopping back. In 1999, Hello Kitty
appeared on 12 000 different products yearly. By 2008, Hello Kitty
was responsible for half of Sanrio's $1 billion revenue and there
were over 50 000 different Hello Kitty branded products in more than
60 countries.
This
character, originally designed for young girls has now become popular
with grown up girls and ladies too. Why? No one knows the answers.
Many collect each and every new avatar in which this cat appears and
there is a virtual mania for this. Yet, no rational explanation can
be given for Singaporean's late night madness for Kitties. The drama
continued even in the wee hours and early mornings as thousands now
lined up for the toy. There were brawls and cat fights and at few
places police had to be called in.
Singing
bone Hello Kitty, offered by McDonalds for SG$ 4.60, a black coloured
stuffed toy with bones painted on it and looking like an overfed
skeleton, was the last of a series of Hello Kitties being offered to
customers since May 2013. McDonald management was completely taken by
surprise by the mad rush of the people. There were immediately
advertisements over net, including e-bay for resale of this stuffed
toy, with prices ranging SG$ 50 to several hundred. One advertisement
on e-bay offered it for 1,26000 SG$, but turned out to be fake.
All
McDonald outlets ran out of black kitty stocks by 10.30 AM on 27th
June 2013 with some running out withing hours of previous midnight.
It appears that in year 2000, this chain had similarly offered Hello
Kitty promotion and there were scenes of mayhem, fights and injuries.
The chain therefore was extra careful this time, but the response was
unprecedented and most surprising.
What
is impossible to fathom is the frenzy and mad rush to buy this, not a
particularly cute looking stuffed toy, even by grown ups and families
at an unearthly hour of midnight?
Life
sometimes is stranger than fiction. Isn't it?
28
June 2013
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