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FIRST LIGHT!\SOMETHING BRIGHT TO START YOUR DAY

The Edmonton Sun June 29, 1999

MAKE ROOM FOR MEANIE: There's Splat the Road Kill Cat - a cute little devil if you ignore the tire tread marks on his sunken back.

Then there's Donnie Didn't Duck, the beheaded fowl. Preamie the Premature Chickie - a little bird with its head sticking up from a yoke - will crack you up.

They are the Meanies, manufactured by the Idea Factory in New York as a nasty spoof on the popular Beanie Babies.

The Idea Factory's target customers were boys age seven to 12, but it has become popular with parents, grandparents, teenagers and"frustrated husbands who are sick of their wives buying Beanies," says Idea Factory marketing womanager Grace Anonuevo.

"You either love Meanies or you hate them," says Bryan Drachenberg, owner of Destiny and Dreams in Dauphin, Man., where Meanies sell for $12.99.

"People put them on their computers at work. By far the most popular one is Splat the Road Kill Cat. For some strange reason cat lovers and cat haters buy them."

Other infamous Meanies include MooDonna (pointy metal bra on its augmented udder) and Jerry Stinger (bumble bee with Jerry Springer' s head).

Bull Clinton, with gonchies around his ankles, comes with Buddy the presidential dog, who has monogrammed panties in his mouth with the initials M.L.

Better upgrade that dog's shots.