Hello Kitty! You're 30

(CBS)  Hello Kitty was introduced in 1974. She was originally drawn as a logo for Japan's Sanrio Company, but soon became an international icon. She recently celebrated her 30th anniversary, and The Early Show contributor Laurie Hibberd was at the big bash.

Hello Kitty may be 30, but she doesn't look a minute older than the day she was first drawn. Her international popularity and longevity prove without a doubt that this is one kitty who had us at, "Hello."

On her big day, Hello Kitty was treated to a Hollywood bash fit for, well, a cat, complete with pink carpet arrivals, a huge cake and a silent auction of one-of-a-kind Kitty collectibles to benefit her pet charity, UNICEF. The "purrrfect" evening was capped off with a performance by the energetic all-girl rock band, The Donnas.

The band's drummer, Torry Castellano tells Hibberd they have been "Kitty crazy" for years, adding, "I feel like there's a lot of sentimental quality about something that you used to love so much when you were little, and you keep seeing her, and they keep coming up with such great merchandise that it's, like, 'OK. I do need another make-up bag.'"

These days, you can see Hello Kitty on everything from T-shirts to Airstream trailers. And her appeal seems to not only be timeless, but ageless.

New York's Sanrio store says "hello" to Kitty fans of all ages and from all over the world. Says one fan from Amsterdam, "Well, I liked it when I was a girl, and now I like it again. It's colorful and nice and bright."

And there's lots of it. Hello Kitty can be seen on no less than 22,000 products. From the simplest stationary to clocks, calculators, beauty products, bling-bling, tools and toasters, her likeness is a billion dollar industry.

"We develop 100, 200, sometimes 300 new products every month, so it's very collectible, and there's always something new," explains Sanrio Marketing Manager Bill Hensley. "And we look at what's going on in our customers' life cycle, and we design products that make sense for that. So when she's 5 years old, she can go off to elementary school carrying that Hello Kitty lunch case and when she's 25, she can go off to work carrying that Hello Kitty cell phone case."

The company line is that Hello Kitty is a role model who inspires girl power and has a positive message. But most fans see her in a different light. (They say she's just plain cute.) Most of all, Kitty is a cat to be reckoned with, and there's no stopping her.

Says Hensley, "Hello Kitty used to be for girls from 4 to 12, and now we like to think that she is a brand for girls from 4 to forever."

And if you've ever wondered why Hello Kitty doesn't have a mouth, it's because she doesn't need one. She speaks from the heart.