The Snuggie craze is sweeping the nation. What is the appeal of the backless blanket?
Despite the blogosphere’s blanketing coverage and the mainstream media’s mentions of the made-for-TV Snuggie, it’s not really clear why everyone is talking about it. There are bad product reviews galore on the internet; after all, it’s just a cheap piece of fleece with holes in it. But America loves to fall in love with something tchotchkesque and cozy.
Snuggie Backstory
The brilliant marketer of the Snuggie is Allstar Products Group, and they are reporting that 4 million have been sold since their debut last August. (Perhaps there will be a stadium shot in their next commercial of tens of thousands of fans wearing Snuggies simultaneously). "Every once in a while, a product transcends advertising to become part of pop culture," said Scott Boilen, president and CEO of Allstar Products Group of Hawthorne, N.Y., to USA Today. Made-for-tv infomercials have gained exposure since bigger advertisers have pulled back on advertising in a bad economy.
Snuggie Commercials
The commercial is a classic, almost cheesy-vintage style infomercial featuring people in various “Snuggie” poses like reading on the couch, attending a sporting event, holding a baby, eating popcorn, reading, etc. The beginning of the commercial shows a woman struggling to put on a traditional blanket while answering the phone.
The colors are vivid, the actors exhibit cheesy grins- and the Snuggie family cheering in the bleachers is a particularly memorable image. The commercial itself as well as a hilarious parody called “The WTF Blanket” are available for viewing on YouTube.com. When you buy a Snuggie (available in some stores for $14.95 but cheaper at only 2 for $19.95 when you order directly online at GetSnuggie.com) you get a free book light as well!
Snuggie Pop Culture Craze
It’s impossible to predict what will become a huge pop phenomenon. Did the Ty company predict the huge success of the Beanie Baby? Who knew what a ‘Ped Egg’ was before the made-for tv commercials showed the popular foot grater? Snuggies have attracted millions of buyers and seemingly even more fans – Facebook groups, blog posts, newspaper articles, TV news segments, you name it; whatever the Allstar company paid in TV advertising has been multiplied thousands of times over by the nation’s best advertiser: word of mouth.
Tons of people have been very vocal about complaints of being overcharged, waiting too long for the backless blanket sensation, but these complaints seem to be doing little to slow sales. There are even Internet collections of people posing in their Snuggies in different settings around the nation.
It’s basically a backwards bathrobe or a backless fleece blanket with holes for your arms, but there’s just something about the Snuggie that has catapulted it into American pop culture superstar status.
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