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For many parents, it will seem all too familiar.
The overwhelming need. The pleading.
The slight feelings of shame. The guilt.
Finally, the rationalizations.
First it was Beanie Babies. Now, Pokemon.
"There's a part of me that feels ashamed that I'm doing anything with it," said Lisa, a mother of two Pokemon fans. "I'm showing my daughter the ramp-up in consumerism and feeding that need to have the latest thing. . . .
"But it's fun."
Lisa is far from alone.
The Pokemon consumer craze, the latest marketing tsunami fueled with a mixture of media and retail promotion, has parents like Lisa standing in long lines to buy Kids Club Meals at Burger Kings across the country.
What those parents really want are the Pokemon card, toy and booklet -- included with each kids meal from now until Jan. 2 -- to satisfy the desires of their children.
Of course, there's a burger and fries, as well. But who cares.
The rush to grab up the 57 different Pokemon toys is comparable to -- and may exceed -- the Beanie Baby bedlam created in spring 1997 when McDonald's restaurants gave away miniature versions of the stuffed animals.
And the people shelling out the $1.99 or $2.99 for a Burger King kids meal represent a similar mix of consumers -- parents just trying to make their kids happy and entrepreneurs stockpiling the premiums in hopes of turning them into a fast buck.
One customer in Illinois reportedly bought 200 Kids Club Meals earlier this week, walked out with an entire case of the Pokemon premiums, and left the burgers in the restaurant.
"This is huge," said Rodney Henderson, the manager of the Burger...