Kimoji

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Kimoji was a smartphone app with Kim Kardashian-themed pictograms. It was top seller on the Apple App Store and spawned a cottage industry of celebrity emoji apps.

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Content

The Kimoji app gave users a custom selection of over 250 [1] Kim Kardashian-themed emojis and animated GIFs to use in messaging apps. Many of the icons are sexual in nature, depicting Kardashian's breasts and butt, [2] but others include Kardashian crying, hearts, doughnuts, and kisses. [3] Later additions included sexualized images such as an animated handprint slapped on a butt and an intimate couple in a shower. [4]

Development

Kardashian promoted the app on Instagram and Twitter the day of its launch, December 21, 2015. [5] Kardashian said the project was in development for almost two years. [6]

Reception and legacy

At its launch, the app had 9,000 downloads each second. The app earned $1 million per minute [7] despite having mediocre initial App Store ratings. [8] [9] The Kimoji trademark led to a merchandise campaign selling products including pool floats, Post-it notes shaped like Kardashian's butt, [10] fragrances, and smartphone accessories. [11]

Kimoji spawned a cottage industry of celebrity emoji apps in 2016, including Steph Curry's StephMoji, Justin Bieber's Justmoji, Amber Rose's MuvaMoji, [2] and Hillary Clinton's Hillarymoji. Like Kimoji, StephMoji was a top-selling app on the Apple App Store. [7] A web developer who considered Kimoji a societal ill created parody emoji based on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. [12] Some of its illustrations mock Kimoji. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ Fingas, Jon (December 21, 2015). "Kim Kardashian cashes in with her own emoji app". Engadget . Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Hess, Amanda (June 20, 2016). "Hands Off My Smiley Face: Emoji Become Corporate Tools". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331.
  3. 1 2 Olivennes, Hannah (February 12, 2016). "Emoji Maker Finds Muse in a Kim: Jong-un, Not Kardashian West". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331.
  4. ↑ "Kimoji Update: See the NSWF New Entries". People . June 1, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ Gallagher, Danny (December 21, 2015). "You can now use Kim Kardashian's butt to express your soul's yearnings". CNET. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  6. ↑ Kardashian, Kim. "The Making of My Kimojis". Kim Kardashian West. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Reisinger, Don (July 1, 2016). "Forget the Kimoji and Buy Some Hillarymoji for Your iPhone". Fortune . Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  8. ↑ Knibbs, Kate (December 23, 2015). "Kim Kardashian Says Her App Broke the App Store, Apple Disagrees". Gizmodo . Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  9. ↑ Olanoff, Drew (December 22, 2015). "Kim Kardashian's Buttmoji Owns The App Store". TechCrunch . Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  10. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (April 17, 2018). "You Won't Have to Wait in Line for Micromerch". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331.
  11. ↑ Martinez-Keel (February 13, 2019). "Kardashian West sued in OKC court over use of Kimoji images, merchandise". Oklahoman.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Kim Jong-un emojis take on Kim Kardashian Kimoji". BBC News. February 12, 2016.
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