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MEANIES - FOR THOSE SICK OF BEANIES
The Toronto Sun July 1, 1999

WINNIPEG -- 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. Perhaps 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.

"It was all good-natured toilet humour, but to our surprise it really struck a nerve with the market that was either fed up with Beanie Babies or just wanted to collect every kind of bean bag toy out there," said Grace Anonuevo, the Idea Factory's marketing manager.

TARGET CUSTOMERS

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," Anonuevo said.

Meanies have become a big hit in the U.S. since they were introduced in October 1997. They're now testing the waters north of the border.

"You either love Meanies or you hate them," said Bryan Drachenberg, owner of Destiny and Dreams in downtown 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."

"Some were cool, some were downright disgusting, like the Pukin' Toucan and the Velocicrapper, and some I couldn't figure out what they were trying to get at," said Rob Warren, a toy expert when he' s not director at the Asper Centre for Entrepreneurship.

"They'll sell to teenagers who are rebelling against Beanie Babies because they are the antithesis of Beanie Babies."

An Infamous Series Of Meanies includes MooDonna (pointy metal bra on its udder) and Jerry Stinger (bumble bee with Jerry Springer' s head). Bull Clinton, with boxers around its ankles, comes with Buddy the presidential dog. Buddy has monogrammed panties in his mouth with the initials M.L.

© Copyright 1999 from The Toronto Sun