I really doubt the Japanese follow the Superbowl. But, I read an article tonight that they seem to love SpongeBob Squarepants! Here it is:
Japan absorbed by a sponge
Young women are the biggest fans of Nickelodeon's cartoon character SpongeBob in the animation-loving land.
By Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press
February 5, 2007
TOKYO — Square and loud, SpongeBob wasn't supposed to have much chance for success in Japan, a nation known for its love of more cuddly characters such as Hello Kitty and Pikachu.
But the perky, bucktoothed American cartoon character is proving the skeptics wrong. SpongeBob SquarePants attracts nearly 1.9 million Japanese households to his TV show daily and is raking in a growing share of the $5 billion in annual retail sales for Nickelodeon, the Viacom Inc. unit behind the show.
And he's doing it by capturing the hearts of Japan's young women — not children, his most loyal fans in the U.S.
"I started collecting Bob because I think he's cute and he stands out," said Mayu Takahashi, a 21-year-old student who was shopping in Tokyo's fashionable Harajuku district holding a SpongeBob tote bag. "Some of my friends say he's a creepy kind of cute."
SpongeBob's popularity here is unusual. His show — the No. 1 children's program in the U.S. — runs as specials on Japanese broadcast channels and airs regularly only on satellite and some cable systems.
Even in the U.S., no one expected a story about a sponge that lives in a pineapple-shaped home to catch on when it started airing in 1999. SpongeBob, created by Stephen Hillenburg, a former marine biology teacher, was a surprise hit.
New York-based Viacom carefully orchestrated SpongeBob's introduction to Japan in 2000. It targeted young women, viewed as trendsetters, through licensed products and sought to create underground appeal through word of mouth.
Showings of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" were restricted to art-house theaters.
A hip-hop designer created SpongeBob jewelry. A pop star was signed to praise the cartoon character in the local media. Glossy magazines for teenagers ran stories on him.
Viacom believed that this strategy would overcome the risk that SpongeBob might end up a short-lived fad in Japan, where consumers tend to get bored quickly with characters.
Hardly visible at first in items such as handbag charms for high school girls, SpongeBob is now popping up in knickknack stores, mobile phone sites and blog chatter. More than 30 Japanese companies are churning out goods plastered with SpongeBob's likeness, from a $1.70 eraser to a $300 stuffed doll the size of a giant cushion.
Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products, said her company had set a target of $25 million in annual sales of SpongeBob merchandise in Japan.
The Asian nation is potentially a larger licensing market than the U.S., partly because Japanese, especially young women, tend to love knickknacks, figures and other character products.
"We were told for a long time that SpongeBob just was a character that wouldn't work in Japan," said Ed Wells, vice president at Viacom International Japan.
"But if you look everywhere around the world, SpongeBob has really become a huge phenomenon."
Masanori Yamamoto, manager at the Kiddy Land toy store in Tokyo, said SpongeBob appealed to young people who want to be ahead of the crowd.
"Disney characters have been around for so long, they feel Japanese," he said.
SpongeBob also appeals to go-getter parents as a fun way to teach English to children.
Emi Aida has her daughters, Sara, 3, and Mika, 5, watch the show in English.
"It's a cute character and so she likes it," she said, eyeing Mika clutching a SpongeBob doll at a recent children's event that featured games, treats and an actor in a SpongeBob outfit.