Hello… Kitty!
By Misty • Apr 17th, 2009 • Category: Blog
Before I moved to San Francisco & before I worked at Good Vibrations I opened a box sent to me by my then best friend & was overjoyed to see my very own Hello Kitty rocket-style vibrator! Not only did I think she was so so SO cute but the actual vibe wasn’t so bad either… bonus.
Hello Kitty perched atop the rocket vibe clutching her teddy bear held a special place in my heart & a special place in my night table drawer. She wasn’t just the kids-craze anymore… she was a sex symbol! Or a symbol that I was about to get sexed up…
Fast forward a few years. I moved south, got a temp gig at GV and had a blast selling that same vibe until one day it was gone. The buyer at the time didn’t say much – just that Sanrio had given all adult retailers a cease & desist as they hadn’t intended for their innocent shoulder massager to be used in such an… intimate way.
Here’s the GV folklore: A Good Vibrations staffer took a vacation to Japan & while touristing around stumbled upon a vending machine that contained, among many other things, the Hello Kitty massager. She quickly bought a few & upon her return let the buyer in on the secret and viola!
According to www.kittyhell.com it all started “back in 1997 when Sanrio gave a license to Genyo Co. to make a number of different Hello Kitty products. They produced all different types of products and one that was approved was a Hello Kitty shoulder massager. This was sent out to gift shops, restaurant chains, and other knick-knack stores and was truly sold as a shoulder massager around Japan initially.” This website claims that once Sanrio found out Genyo Co. was selling this item to adult companies they asked the asked Genyo Co. to stop selling it: “The Hello Kitty vibrator had at this point gained cult status and was selling like hotcakes and Genyo Co. had no intention of letting a hugely profitable product be taken off the shelf just because people were using it to stimulate other parts than intended. Sanrio tried to revoke Genyo’s licensing rights, but Genyo refused saying they had a valid license that had been approved and had spent much money developing the product.”
Needless to say Sanrio prevailed & the beloved Hello Kitty Vibrator disappeared from all US adult stores showing up instead on Ebay for, at times, over $100.
Over the past few years GV stores/call center would occasionally get calls or emails from people who’d stumbled across an old Good Vibrations catalogue, saw it online or had heard rumor or it. With the manufacturer not allowing that item to be imported to the US or sold in adult there was really nothing we could do. Hello Kitty had left and wasn’t expected to return.
Until now… cause she’s back! Back & better than ever! Last October at a trade show in Berlin, up popped not one but a few styles of Hello Kitty vibrators… being sold as… vibrators. Amazing! And now we are so thrilled to offer not one but three different colors of the original rocket-style vibe! Now you can have your kitty match you – your mood, your wardrobe, your alter-ego, whatever you want!
So, maybe Sanrio finally caught on or maybe they just wanted to get into the consumerism train! Either way she’s back & we are happy to have her back!
Hello Kitty Vibrator
Hello Kitty says hello clitty! The Japanese cultural icon, now over 30 years old, is finally a toy for grown-ups. This pretty little pussy will leave you purring with pleasure. Riding atop a rocket style-vibe, the cute character clutches her teddy and emits mild vibration. The sensation may not be strong, but the kitch factor sure is… meow!
Black, Pin, or Lavender Hard Plastic.
Takes one AA battery (not included).
5 1/2” long, 1 1/2” in diameter.
Volume: 2, Intensity: 2
Misty >> Since starting at Good Vibrations in 2003, Misty has worn many hats. Starting in sales she brought her queer sensibilities (2nd generation!!) to the merchandising department in 2005 and continues to branch out into different parts of the company. Fiercely femme, she enjoys wearing tight clothes, screening queer porn, getting her nails done, spending time with monsters and changing the world one day at a time.
All posts by Misty
We are a wholesale company, out of michigan that would like to carry the Hello Kitty Vibrator in a large quanity, I was wondering who can we get it touch with to buy this item.