Why the Target Lion Menorah Became a Holiday Hit

The phallic feline was a hit on social media

News

By RC Staff

09 March 2023

Key Points:

Target’s Threshold brand produced a unique golden lion-shaped menorah for Hanukkah 2022
Customers quickly picked up on the menorah’s oddly phallic design, and it went viral on social media
Jokes about the menorah led to people piling into their local Target to buy one. After they sold out, they began reselling for $100 or more

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Home & Living

Target Gold Lion Hanukkah Menorah

A gold menorah released by Target’s Threshold home brand for Hanukkah 2022. It was modeled after a lion, but went viral and subsequently sold out for resembling something else…

With the snow melting and the holidays several months in the rearview, we thought it would be fun to a do a little introspective on one of the weirder products of 2022’s holiday season. What started out as a bland corporate design quickly spiraled out of control, and Target soon found themselves selling out of a very mundane object: A menorah.

Why?

Well, this menorah looked like a penis.

What's the deal with the Target Lion Menorah?

If you didn’t know, Target actually stocks a fair amount of menorahs, with a wide spread of designs. Some are fairly traditional, some are a little more artistic, and some are a bit pricey.

We’re here to talk about one menorah in particular, the Golden Lion Menorah from Threshold. Threshold is a brand owned and operated by Target, and produces a wide range of products from bedsheets to rugs to toothbrush containers.

The menorah in question is pretty simple. It’s a stylized sitting lion, made from a golden metal. There are eight slots for candles in the body, with the ninth in the head. Nothing too crazy yet right? Here’s what it looks like:

Hmm. Look at those haunches. Combine that with the cylindrical body, the overall shape, and the protruding head…

Wait, what happens if we turn it upside down?

Fuck.

Why did the Target Lion Menorah resell?

Ok, so you made a menorah that looks like a penis. Well, actually it just straight up is a penis. Don’t panic!

Target was probably in the middle of drafting up an apology letter when a curious phenomenon started unfolding. The penis menorahs began selling. Fast.

Target’s menorahs had gone viral. Both Twitter and TikTok were having a field day riffing on the design of the menorah. Seriously, how did this get greenlit?

Despite the potentially insulting nature of the product, it proved extremely popular. Enough so that the surge in demand led to Target’s shelves being completely stripped of the lion menorahs. Considering that it was a relatively niche item produced specifically for Hanukkah and sold only through Target, total production numbers of the menorah were likely limited.

@teddyberry808
I found the viral #Target Lion #Menorah and i had to have 10! Ebay here I come!

♬ Hava Nagila (Wet Fingers Remix) – Hanukkah

In any case, once the lion menorahs had sold out, people still wanted to buy one. Listings on eBay took off a few days later, and the price for one rose to $50 quickly. 2022’s Hanukkah began on December 18th, so people who wanted one for their celebration would need to act fast.

At its peak, the Target lion menorah sold for nearly $100. These retailed for only $18, so savvy resellers who loaded up on the phallic felines early came out ahead with significant profits.

It’s always nice to have a little extra money for the holidays.

By the way, Target has removed the store page for their lion menorahs from their website, and never made any statement about them. Chances are they were a little embarrassed, and are happy to sell out the extra stock and not mention them again.

That said, don’t be surprised if these are not on shelves come Hanukkah 2023.