It’s not exactly a new idea to put Pokemon on just about anything but it’s always been bound to happen that designers are going to keep coming out with new ideas to make money off of the hottest franchises around. Joe Peach, the designer in question, is currently about to unveil a new line of Pokemon lingerie and sleepwear according to Tommy Williams of GeekTyrant, and really it’s not hard to see how some people might want to say something snarky about this, while the rest of us might just go ‘meh’ and let it be. The merchandise is set to premiere in Japan on May 7th and there’s no telling yet just when it will make its way to America, or if it will considering that it’s not exactly essential. Likely as not though the designs will make their way across the Pacific eventually if only because the stimulation of the economy is still considered essential and there are plenty of people that are going to be willing to buy these items, especially those who are huge Pokemon fans and/or know ladies that are big fans of the franchise as well. For some fans having Pikachu and other Pokemon girding their loins is bound to be an experience that will help enhance their fandom in a way, but from a different perspective it’s basically just another way to make money by plastering a character’s likeness wherever it can go. I’ll be honest, I’ve bought certain things simply because they have been associated with a favorite franchise, but there are times when it’s a little more sensible to pay less for an item that doesn’t have the character or theme attributed to it but is still comfy or useful and cost-effective.
One way to insure that people are going to buy a product however has been to associate it with a popular franchise however, as Pokemon has been affixed to so many different products and replicated over and over that it’s been all but assured that people will buy those products just because they feature their favorite characters. This idea extends far beyond Pokemon as well since many franchises have used the allure that people want to push a massive number of products to the public in the hope that they’ll buy them. Everything from the most useful products in the world to the most insane and WTF products have had pop culture figures affixed to them in some way and it’s largely because said representation allows the products to sell and to keep making money for those that are pushing said products. It’s not a conspiracy since it’s a proven fact that people will tend to buy certain products that have been endorsed by or feature the likenesses of their favorite characters on them more often than not since the representation gets their attention and for one reason or another makes them want to buy the product. It might not always make sense considering that something like sleepwear isn’t bound to be any more or less comfortable with or without the likeness of one’s favorite Pokemon, but the effect it has upon a fan of the franchise is profound since it gives the buyer a feeling of completion that’s hard to deny.
One might find it a bit odd when comparing products to find that everything that bears the likeness of a favored character from pop culture is about the same quality as those same items that don’t feature the character in any way, and yet sometimes the products that do feature the characters are far more expensive. In reality you’re paying for the brand and for the marketing, not the product, which usually costs far less to make than one might believe. To a lot of people this sounds absolutely ridiculous since charging so much for something that doesn’t take up that much raw material and likely costs less than the shipping fees required to get it to people feels like highway robbery. But believe it or not it’s all legal and above board since otherwise it wouldn’t be allowed to happen on such a humongous scale. Companies know that people will buy things like this because they are fans and because they’re being catered to by the franchise in a way that makes them happy and gives them a feeling of accomplishment somehow for having added such items to their collection. It’s very true that the items do sound as though they would satisfy many a fan, but it’s also likely that the unit price is far more than many people would want to try and afford. However, sellers know that buyers are going to be there with their money out and ready to spend, so it’s not likely that there will be a time when any idea, no matter how odd, will simply be passed by, especially if it’s associated with a popular franchise.
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