Second childhood

I have just learned about a marketing phenomenon called 'Hello Kitty', a Japanese invention from around 1975 which mainly consists in selling strongly branded merchandise to young girls. A very successful invention with millions if not billions of pounds turning over every year.

A learning from reference 3 prompted again by the Susan Greenfield of references 1 and 2. Very much, I would have thought, the sort of lady who would pop up to give a Friday discourse at the Royal Institution in Albemarle Street (in London), the street where they also sell sheets of off-white textured cardboard, very tastefully packaged up as art and sold for very fancy prices.

We got as far last night as watching part of a DVD which involved Kitty paying a visit to 'Alice in Wonderland', with Kitty herself being a very elemental creation, nothing much to her at all, just a bit up from a telly-tubby. Tellingly, amazon was a bit confused when I asked for a 'Hello Kitty' DVD, being much more interested in selling me something from a huge range of Kitty themed merchandise.

While this morning, feeling the need for something more adult, I spent the breakfast period pondering about whether it would be a good idea if we had a statute of limitations, setting time limits beyond which it would not be possible to bring someone to court, criminal or otherwise, this prompted by yet another media person being convicted for sexual offences which took place many years ago. I can see pros and cons, but twenty years sprang to mind as a reasonable limit in this sort of case. Such limits might also be usefully applied to Hillsborough and Bloody Sunday. While, I guess, going to war in Iraq is going to be inside any such limit, at least for a while yet.

I associated to the olden days, when a year and a day was often the magic period. If you got away with whatever it was for that long, you were away, clear and free.

PS: I shall now check our Argos catalogue, perhaps even go so far as to visit the Ashley Centre to see if they are on-message.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/the-staff-of-life.html.

Reference 2: http://www.susangreenfield.com/.

Reference 3: Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound - Martin Lindstrom - 2005.

Reference 4: https://www.sanrio.com/.

Reference 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_Kitty.