Would you like your morning coffee with a side of Domo-kun? In one of those odd twists of globalization and marketing synergy, the mascot of Japanese public television network NHK has found his way onto 99 cent cups of coffee and special Slurpee cups at 7-Eleven stores in the United States.
The campaign exists to promote the first U.S. Domo DVD.
If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, check out some shorts (many are—gasp!—Slurpee-related) at Domonation.com. Or just enjoy cute cartoon characters with your coffee. But remember, every time you caffeinate, God kills a kitten.
7-Eleven® Stores Face Total Domo-Nation [Press Release] (Thanks, Joe!)
Japan’s Domo Invades 7-Eleven [Adweek]
Domo Nation [Official SIte]
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I was going to reference the reason Domo-kun achieved their popularity in the US, but I am glad you already covered it Laura!
I seem to recall seeing him at Target last Halloween and wondering if they’d hired someone from B3ta to do their marketing.
@JulesNoctambule: Indeed. He was also available in pink for Valentine’s Day at Target.
@MissPeacock:
And easter this year or last too…I have a Domo-kun that was filled with candy but happened to be the perfect size to hold my pen cup at work.
And this stuff has been at Sleven for like 3 weeks now…
And yes my wife bought all of it already, even the DVD.
I guess I’ll be swinging by 7-Eleven.
Oh, Domo-kun, is there nothing you can’t do?
@ArcanaJ:
Is he a god yet?
That kitten picture is one of my favorite pictures on the planet. It still makes me laugh, years after the first time I saw it…
Now I want one of those cups. Not so much a slurpee. Just the cup.
@subtlefrog: How can you not enjoy neon colored high fructose corn syrup mixed with ice? It’s unheard of.
Crap, I really want a slurpee now.
@pecan 3.14159265: My SO has a fixation with Coke Slurpees so I’m going to make her a Slurpee machine for Christmas this year. Should go well with the new workout room in the house.
@GreatGerm: They make slurpee machines?! I have a friend who would love one. I love Coke slurpees. Mr. Pi doesn’t like slurpees much, and he very rarely ever even takes a sip of mine, but the last time I got a cherry slurpee, he took a sip and he compared it to a snowcone. I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it’s pretty close to a snowcone.
@pecan 3.14159265: It’s nearly impossible to find a real one for purchase and the one time that I did it was as much as a used car (Honda, not Ford). So, I’m just going to make one from scratch. I figure part of the reason for building the new house is to have a good workshop so might as well use it.
@pecan 3.14159265: About once a year, I desperately want one. Normally, no. And generally, it won’t be before 7 AM, as it was when I posted that comment…eeeeeee. I can’t do sugar first thing.
@subtlefrog: I need my sugar fix in the morning as soon as I get out of the shower. It is generally in the form of a glazed donut though.
Also, what the heck, lady. What is a phd student doing waking up before 10AM?
@MostlyHarmless: Mmmm glazed donut. What are you doing to me?! I’m trying to cut sugars and I’m trying to lose weight! Start giving tofu and vegetables glowing praise, please. I forgot my lunch today, so I can’t be tempted to get a cheesesteak, which is the special of the day at one of the cafes nearby. Mmmmm cheesesteak…dammit!
@pecan 3.14159265: Think of how your purchase of the cheesesteak will help the world. That purchase will pay the wage of the dishwasher who will use that to pay for transportation to a better school where he will become interested in biochem. This new interest will lead him to turn away from a life of violence on the streets and work hard in school. His dedication leads to good grades and a scholarship to Harvard where he discovers the cure for cancer.
Do you really want to throw all that away for some tofu?
@GreatGerm: Couldn’t I say the same thing about tofu and the dishwasher who washes the pan in which it was cooked?
@pecan 3.14159265: It’s not as tasty that way.
@GreatGerm: I don’t know…the tofu is pretty tasty. And at least I don’t run the risk of writing in pain an hour later, clutching my stomach because I ate something slathered in oil and cheese.
Of course, if there isn’t any tofu today, I’ll have to get the cheesesteak. And then where will we be?
@GreatGerm: Tofu won today’s lunch battle.
@pecan 3.14159265: Oh cheesesteak is soooo gooood…
@pecan 3.14159265: Hey, veggies and tofu can be fan-frigging-tastic if done right. I know, I’ve been veg for about 30 years. Done wrong, tofu ~ phlegm. Sadly, many places do it wrong, assuming that vegetarians like phlegm. We do not. Tofu done well = dreaminess!
@MostlyHarmless: It’s the fellowship I have. I am in a high school two days a week, which means I’m up early. Toooo early. Then it carries over to the rest of the week.
@subtlefrog: Yaps! I clicked on that and was glad my boss didn’t come up behind me.
It was funny though.
^.^ *fanboy squee!*
I don’t even know where there is a 7-11 near me, but I want! I wont even fill my cup with crappy 7-11 coffee, I’ll just pay for a GIANT Domo cup!
The slurpee straw Domos are awesome. The straws cost $1.99 and the domo can be removed and stand alone. You can buy the straws without the Slurpees if you are anti-HFCS like me.
I got the Nacho Libre one. Fantastic!
@suburbancowboy:
OMG! Ha ha ha … Love Mistah Gansta there with his bling and shades. The Nacho Libre is the awesomeist though.
@ElizabethD: The first three have definable themes and identities. What the crap is that fourth one that’s eating candy? What is that?
@pecan 3.14159265: Candy Bee Monster Domo. I dunno. I want it so badly though.
@h3llc4t has a slow work day: OMG, WANT. Must…have…candy…Domo…
@pecan 3.14159265: You are trying to make sense of Domo. Look at him1 I have been buying Domo stuff for years, and I just go with it. He’s a brown “thing” that hatched from an egg, hates apples, and farts a lot. The candy on his head makes more sense than anything else.
I think it is just a Halloween thing.
@suburbancowboy: I had to buy the Candy Bee! Soooo cute! thank you Domo-kun!
Damn it, looks like I’m driving down to campus to buy Domo-Kun crap…
@h3llc4t has a slow work day: WAIT! No I won’t! Kris has offered to get me one while he’s out today! Magic fiance is magic, woooo! I really hope he gets the one with candy on its head.
is that a grue?
@Megalomania: I would only recognize one from the inside.
@floraposte: I always wondered if it was light inside of a grue. Otherwise, if it was dark, wouldn’t you be likely to be eaten by a grue again?
@henneko: Well, you know how cows have multichambered stomachs?
@henneko: Somewhere, the Infocom folks are kicking themselves for not realizing the fun they could have had with that.
@Megalomania: I think you’re about a generation too late.
Not surprising, since 7-11 is now owned by a Japanese company.
7-Eleven is a Japanese company (yes, including the US stores), so I’m sure that has something to do with it…
@scoobydoo: A Japanese company in the US, mostly managed by Indian folks. Now all they need to do is to hire some illegal aliens from Mexico, have an affair with an Argentinian lady, appoint a token black guy as their chairman, photoshop some pics for their Polish store, and detain two italian teenagers for squeezing muffins in public. Then it will be a pretty darn good example of globalization. And just so that kimaroo does not feel left out, they should go ahead an sponsor some Aussie cricket club too.
@MostlyHarmless: Either that, or hire Microsoft to create their advertising so that they change the faces to suit their target markets. Just make sure you watch their hands.
Look out Poland! They’re back…
Domo-kun is so 2002.
What about that bear the people at 4chan like so much? Isn’t he going to get some mainstream exposure?
@Acolyte: Pedobear? I think not.
@Acolyte: You mean Pedobear? I sure hope not. He’s cute and cuddly and all that, but really, someone needs to think of the children.
@Paladin_11: Pedobear thinks of The Children.
Quite often.
@Trai_Dep: ToucheÌ. Literally. But of course I meant think of the children in a wholesome protective way.
I would have posted the link to Pedobear’s “Encyclopedia Dramatica” entry but frankly it’s much too revolting for a site like this. So I leave it to the interested reader to find it for themselves.
You all DO know what Domo Kun actually is, right? He’s a big ‘ole piece of poop (they’ve seemed to omit this fact from a marketing standpoint.) I remember when the character first popped up around 10 years ago, that he was described as a “poo monster” who would “pass gas when he was nervous or upset.” Aww!
(Anybody know if these will be available in Canada?)
@ElleDriver: I always thought Domo looked like a piece of chocolate shredded wheat.
@pecan 3.14159265: One inevitably leads to the other you know.
@ElleDriver: Check the Target stores. I know Target’s been on the Domo Kun bandwagon for a couple of years now.
@FLConsumer: Sadly for us Canucks, Target does not exist in Canada. (Thanks for the tip, though!)
@ElleDriver: He’s not a poo! He’s a monster hatched from an egg! Have you ever seen a poo come out of an egg? (*´д｀*)
@Piri: No I haven’t, but I suppose a regular monster hatching out of an egg is more believable? :p
Like I said, it’s funny how his original origins as a “Poo Monster” have been scrubbed and sanitized for mass marketing.
@ElleDriver: So…. Mr. Hankey?
HIIIIIIDEY HO!!!!!!!
I thought the large popularity of Domo Kun in the English speaking internets was from the “Every time you masturbate, God kills a kitten” photo that got passed around. Found it quite funny to see the character used in mainstream marketing considering its humble roots.
@FLConsumer:
Consider this an effort to clean up his image.
Domo is the man…I think.
I’m crestfallen after clicking the last link in Laura’s story.
I think I’m responsible for the death of a continent’s worth of fluffy, fluffy kittens. (gulp)
Run Fluffy, RUN!
@Trai_Dep: Think about it this way: The world’s supply of teenage boys and old men have yet to wipe the humble kitten from the face of the earth…
@Keavy_Rain: No, but it does explain all the matted fur.
7-Eleven is giving away free hot drinks in Domo cups through 10/31. Download this coupon and print it:
[slickdeals.net]
@CentralServices:
Doesn’t seem to be working. Try this one:
[slickdeals.net]
Just goes to prove that no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.
Is this the new substitute for American Girl dolls?
@H3ion: I don’t see how this relates only to Americans. This crap was popular in Japan first.
Woohoo! Just in time for my trip to Columbus, which is where the closest 7-eleven is.
Ironically…Japanese 7-11s (at least the ones I found)…no Slurpees.
The question is, do they know that domo-kun is a giant poop monster?
We don’t have 7-Eleven here.
@HogwartsAlum: Here either, which is why I didn’t know about it until now.
Yay I have two Domos in my house of the stuffed variety and a whole lotta junk. Time for moar!
As a devout consumerist, I really should be able to resist this crap. And generally I can, but my girlfriend is ensnared in Domo’s adorable web so I end up purchasing loads of Domo merch anyway. Love trumps being a smart consumer in some cases, I suppose.
I don’t even know why Domo is in the US considering there doesn’t seem to be very much cultural relation to him compared to Japan.