1997 when Sanrio gave a license to Genyo Co. to make a number of different Hello Kitty products.

one

was a Hello Kitty shoulder massager.

some people decided to use the shoulder massagers to massage other areas besides their shoulders.

The Hello Kitty shoulder massagers

began to show up in adult movies

also being sold in adult video shops and the sales of the product skyrocketed.

Sanrio

claimed to be disgusted, especially since the Sanrio name and Hello Kitty character were on it.

They

contacted Genyo Co. and asked them to stop

Genyo Co. had no intention of letting a hugely profitable product be taken off the shelf

The fight between the two companies continued

until Genyo Co

found themselves in tax trouble

Sanrio

revoke the license and

took the “shoulder massagers” off the market.

you can imagine my surprise when I received an email letting me know that they have revived it - selling it for just over $10 (1260 yen) in the Sanrio Japanese online store