John Williamson
Posts: 18 +0
Tardar Sauce, better known online as Grumpy Cat, is the most world's most successful pet, earning its 28-year-old owner Tabatha Bundesen and her Arizona family a reported $100 million. Grumpy Cat's appearance originates from a combination of feline dwarfism and an underbite which endeared her to so many people. Her debut YouTube video in September 2012 was an instant hit and now has over 16.6 million views and 20,000 comments.
The Internet sensation was quickly snapped up for endorsements and became the face of Friskies cat food. Later on, Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book was published on July 23, 2013 by Chronicle Books, debuting at number 7 on the New York Times' Best Seller List. Other work followed including The Grumpy Cat 2014 Wall Calendar and The Grumpy Guide to Life. More recently, Grumpy had its own brand of iced coffee commissioned: the Grumppuccino.
But the career highlight came in June 2014 when Lifetime announced that it would be producing a movie about Grumpy Cat, entitled Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, which debuted on the small screen November 29, 2014.
Given the massive success of its YouTube videos, product promotions, book deals and a Christmas themed film, it's easy to see how its owner was able to rake in the big bucks in such a short amount of time. Speaking with The Express Bundesen said:
“I was able to quit my job as a waitress within days of her first appearance on social media and the phone simply hasn’t stopped ringing since.”
However, a day after the news about the cat's successful run and reported earnings broke, Bundesen called the $100 million revenue claim "completely inaccurate," and that she would set the record straight eventually.
Grumpy's social presence is dominated by memes with new text being added to images all the time. Managing any celebrity is a difficult task so the owner gave the reins to Ben Lashes, an Internet meme talent manager (yes, this is a thing). Lashes specializes in cats, with clients such as Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat, but he also manages Scumbag Steve and Ridiculously Photogenic Guy.
https://www.techspot.com/news/59091-grumpy-cat-made-100-million-since-2012.html
