It's Happy Bunny
Encyclopedia
Happy Bunny is the name of a character in a series of sticker
s, button
s, greeting card
s, poster
s, and other merchandise sold at novelty shops across North America
. Designed by artist and writer Jim Benton
, "who People Magazine called the most visible cartoonist in America, Happy Bunny is a small, smiling bunny, often varying in color, with an insulting slogan
printed at its feet.
The appeal of the merchandise lies in the fact that most, if not all, of the slogans are apathetic
and sometimes offensive and derogatory, and one commentator noted that "'It's Happy Bunny' has joined the "tasteless" category of merchandise ...". Examples of slogans are "You suck and that's sad", "Cute but psycho: things even out", "Hi, Loser", "It worries me how dumb you are,"Dear Santa, leave presents. Take Brother! "I am the dominant bunny in the world" and many others. It's Happy Bunny also has a line of "medicine" to cure quite awkward (fictional) diseases such as the "I'm delusional" pills; they are actually mints or small candies, the word poison badly blocked out with crayon (with happy bunny holding a crayon) and written in crayon there is, "mints for a frend"(sic).
In addition, Jim Benton has written It's Happy Bunny books including Life. Get One; Love Bites; What's Your Sign?; and The Good, The Bad, and the Bunny. These books are targeted towards teen audiences and are not intended to be children's books. An It's Happy Bunny Sudoku
book has also been written by Jim Benton and Rafael Sirkis.
In 2006 the Partnership for a Drug-Free Texas commissioned Benton to create anti-recreational drug public service announcement messages featuring Happy Bunny.
Sticker
A sticker is a type of a piece of paper or plastic, adhesive, sticky on one side, and usually with a design on the other. They can be used for decoration, depending on the situation. They can come in many different shapes, sizes and colours and are put on things such as lunchboxes, in children's...
s, button
Button
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
s, greeting card
Greeting card
A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feeling. Greeting cards,...
s, poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s, and other merchandise sold at novelty shops across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Designed by artist and writer Jim Benton
Jim Benton
Jim Benton is an American illustrator and writer. Licensed properties he has created include Dear Dumb Diary, Dog of Glee, Franny K...
, "who People Magazine called the most visible cartoonist in America, Happy Bunny is a small, smiling bunny, often varying in color, with an insulting slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
printed at its feet.
Products
Happy Bunny products are sold in many forms such as key chains, computer mouse pads, energy drinks, school supplies, clothing lines and many more. "Mr. Benton's intellectual properties ... have made him stand out in an industry dominated by big entertainment companies." "Last year, the It's Happy Bunny brand nabbed the International Licensing Excellence Award for Best Art Brand Licensing of the Year, from the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA)." "An anti-drug campaign featuring It's Happy Bunny was honored at the 2007 Austin ADDY Awards for advertising excellence in the category of public service."The appeal of the merchandise lies in the fact that most, if not all, of the slogans are apathetic
Apathy
Apathy is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical or physical life.They may lack a sense of purpose or meaning in...
and sometimes offensive and derogatory, and one commentator noted that "'It's Happy Bunny' has joined the "tasteless" category of merchandise ...". Examples of slogans are "You suck and that's sad", "Cute but psycho: things even out", "Hi, Loser", "It worries me how dumb you are,"Dear Santa, leave presents. Take Brother! "I am the dominant bunny in the world" and many others. It's Happy Bunny also has a line of "medicine" to cure quite awkward (fictional) diseases such as the "I'm delusional" pills; they are actually mints or small candies, the word poison badly blocked out with crayon (with happy bunny holding a crayon) and written in crayon there is, "mints for a frend"(sic).
In addition, Jim Benton has written It's Happy Bunny books including Life. Get One; Love Bites; What's Your Sign?; and The Good, The Bad, and the Bunny. These books are targeted towards teen audiences and are not intended to be children's books. An It's Happy Bunny Sudoku
Sudoku
is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9...
book has also been written by Jim Benton and Rafael Sirkis.
In 2006 the Partnership for a Drug-Free Texas commissioned Benton to create anti-recreational drug public service announcement messages featuring Happy Bunny.