The oversized blanket with sleeves has
Americans all wrapped up

In China, it is the year of the ox. But in America, 2009 belongs to the Snuggie.

The oversized fleece blanket has sold more than four million units since it was nationally launched on direct-response TV in October 2008, said Scott Boilen, president and CEO of Allstar Products Group LLC, the company behind the marketing and manufacturing of Snuggie.

The Snuggie Blanket with Sleeves has 221 Facebook groups dedicated to it, both positive and negative, while YouTube features 401 Snuggie-themed video clips. Laura Comstock Strapon, from Minneapolis, Minn., is the administrator of the “Show Us Your Snuggie” group on Facebook. Comstock said, “Snuggie is the new black” and encourages the group’s 119 members to share photos of themselves wrapped up in their favorite Snuggie. But while Comstock promotes Snuggie with her group, Jennifer Eick, of Milwaukee, Wis., created the “Boycot the Snuggie?” Facebook group to discredit the product. “It's a cult trying to spread the weirdness; don’t buy it,” she instructs her 37 group members.

Despite the recent buzz, Boilen said Snuggie is not an original concept and that similar products have been developed and sold. “Our quirky problem-solution, direct-response television ad, coupled with a value at a great price point has made all of the difference,” he said.

Indeed, the Snuggie’s direct-response TV commercial is problem-solution focused. Men, women, young and old are shown wearing Snuggie while reading books, attending sporting events, watching movies, using laptops and talking on the phone. The commercial addresses a regular blanket’s inability to keep you warm and mobile simultaneously.

Katherine Newsom, a junior in journalism and electronic media, said the Snuggie commercial piqued her interest in the product. “I remember making fun of (the commercial) with my friends but memorizing the Web site, just in case,” she said.

Newsom told her mother she wanted a Snuggie, so her brothers bought her a Snuggie-like product for Christmas. “I was so excited until I found out it was a Snuggie knock-off,” she said. “It was hideous! It had a nylon shell with a fuzzy white inside. I took it back and got the real deal. Royal blue, reading light included.”

Chad Embry, sophomore in sports journalism, doesn’t own a Snuggie – yet. He said he thinks the two-minute Snuggie infomercial is really effective. “They play Snuggie commercials whenever I seem to watch TV. I see that appealing blanket thing all the time,” he said. “The actors and actresses used in the commercials also look like they’re the happiest people on the planet. They make me feel as if I’m missing out on the better things in life without having one.”

But not everyone appreciates the commercial. Genna Pinto, a junior in journalism and electronic media, said the ad didn’t persuade her to join the Snuggie fan club. Instead, it turned Pinto into a Snuggie-hater. “I used to laugh at the commercial and thought it was a joke,” she said. “The people using the Snuggie in the commercial made me laugh. It was hard to take them seriously.”

But in late January, Pinto’s roommate Allie got a Snuggie, and Pinto borrowed it out of curiosity. “I was skeptical at first, but now I really believe it is a good product,” she said. She said the Snuggie became a big hit in her apartment. “When my friends come to visit, they all fight over using the Snuggie,” she said.

Pinto said she wears Allie’s Snuggie while doing homework, because the blanket’s sleeves make it easy to type on the computer and study notes. Pinto said she also wraps herself up in Snuggie to take naps.

Joe Woodard, a sophomore in biology, said he would never wear his Snuggie out in public like some actors and actresses do in the commercial, but he does wear it around inside on chilly mornings and while napping. “It is seriously the best blanket that I have ever owned thus far,” he said. “Do not knock it until you’ve tried one, it’s basically a backwards robe but so much more comfortable.”

Boilen said his company used the Snuggie TV campaign to build the large blanket’s consumer awareness. “This way when a product does get to retail there is a strong demand,” he explained. In mid-January, Allstar Products Group made Snuggie The Blanket with Sleeves available in royal blue, along with a free book light, at retailers like Bed, Bath & Beyond and Walgreens.

Boilen doesn’t seem at all concerned that there are almost as many Snuggie-hate groups as there are Snuggie-fan groups. “Some people love it; others make fun of it; people are talking about it, and lots are buying it,” he said.