Who would have thought a blanket with sleeves, available in a variety of pastel colors, could serve as an economic indicator?
While several sectors of industry are seeking bailout money in some form or another, the Snuggie, an oversized fleece blanket with sleeves featured in cable television ads, is one of the good-news business stories of 2009. According to an article in the Jan. 27 USA Today, 4 million Snuggies have been sold and the product has even developed a bizarre cult following. And, according to CNBC "Squawk on the Street" co-host Erin Burnett, that's proof television as a medium isn't dead yet.
"Hey guys, guess what - Joe, you just gave me a thought," Burnett said on the Jan. 29 "Squawk on the Street." "You know how everyone says television is dying and all the advertising is going to go to the Web eventually? Isn't the Snuggie proof that that is not true?"
Burnett shared that revelation with "Squawk Box" host Joe Kernan and CNBC reporter David Faber on their "Kahuna and the Brain" segment.
"I'm telling you, my son wants one," Kernan said. "They've sold 4 million of them. People can't get them quickly enough. I mean the guy who thought of those Snuggies is rich, very rich."
Scott Boilen, president and CEO of Allstar Products Group, the company that conceived and markets the Snuggie, credits pop culture for some of its success and not necessarily the resurgence of TV.
"Every once in a while, a product transcends advertising to become part of pop culture," Boilen said to USA Today in an article by Maria Puente.
Puente also pointed out the Web phenomenon the Snuggie has become.
"Indeed, Snuggies seem to be everywhere. See them on Facebook - nearly 250 groups, pro and con; one fan club lists 5,999 members," Puente wrote. "Watch them on YouTube - nearly 300 parody videos posted, including one titled ‘The Cult of the Snuggie,' with 146,000 views as of Tuesday."
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
"4 million Snuggies have
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:17 ET by Chris Norman"4 million Snuggies have been sold and the product has even developed a bizarre cult following.
Are they sure that it isn't just cults buying them? Because the silly looking people in those hokey commercials look like cult members in those robes...
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Hey it's cold with no utilities
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:23 ET by StarAZPeople are cutting back on heat--I think those things look weird, too--a blanket is no big hardship and doesn't slip off your arms so disastrously that you can't live with it--but heat? Skimping.
LOL. Notice Snuggies
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:28 ET by kgLOL.
Notice Snuggies aren't advertising on MSNBC.
"Forget change, I want improvement!"
Yeah, and the soaring Nasdaq
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:23 ET by notonmywatchYeah, and the soaring Nasdaq in early 2000 was proof that tech was a good buy
I find the commercials
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:28 ET by dscottI find the commercials amuzing, they are selling a fleece bathrobe without a belt. It just proves there is a sucker born every minute and TV appeals to a certain group. So much for global warming...
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
They all look like they're
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:32 ET by Chris NormanThey all look like they're waiting for a spaceship to pick them up.
I love these commercials to sell these schlock products. They exaggerate a "problem" to ridiculous lengths to sell their crud - hmmmm - kind of like Al Gore...
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Bathrobes
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:36 ET by BlondeThat's hillarious.
My mom and I laugh every time see one of those bizarro snuggie commercials...next time I'm going to tell her to go put her bathrobe on backwards...she's going to crack up.
Thanks.
Good morning Blonde
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 13:35 ET by cocodrieYou just pointed out the major flaw in the Snuggie design. You still get that cold draft up the crack.
Jesus Loves You
Good one, coco
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 13:58 ET by BlondeI didn't even realize the double entendre.
I really can't wait to point this out to my mom....she and I have the same sense of humor. She's been having a ball, we got her a signed copy of BOR's "Bold Fresh"....and she's been laughing her head off.
Without a back, too
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:43 ET by StarAZNo belt, no back--like clothes they put on corpses in a funeral home.
Shhhhhh Ron Popeil, Billy
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:33 ET by SemperrightShhhhhh Ron Popeil, Billy Mays, and the Slapchop guy will show up and give you what for.
Snuggies, two straps away from being a straightjacket, a real cuddly straightjacket
Semper Fi
Freedom is not free, but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share.
Ned Dolan
The fact
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 12:45 ET by ahusserThe fact we know these guys names and remember them is telling. Anyway Slapchop guy is Vince and he also sells ShamWows. But they are on every cable channel 24/7/365 maybe it is understandable. But there is always something being sold that appeals to somebody. Say you have never been tempted by a tool or something one of these hucksters is selling and I will say you are lying or have superhuman powers :{ )
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster
Climate Change?
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 13:26 ET by slickwillie2001One might just as credibly claim this as evidence that we entering a new ice age.
PS Are these any different from the pancho-craze that swept the nation years ago? I remember seeing all the celebs wearing them.
TV Sales??
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 14:21 ET by PokerfaceI get at least three e-mails a day trying to sell me the Snuggie "as seen on TV" and I saw them for sale at Bed Bath and Beyond this weekend as well, so why does TV get the credit?
TV Sales??
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 14:21 ET by PokerfaceI get at least three e-mails a day trying to sell me the Snuggie "as seen on TV" and I saw them for sale at Bed Bath and Beyond this weekend as well, so why does TV get the credit?
But the Snuggie advantage
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 14:31 ET by celatorBut the Snuggie advantage for TV is countered by Erin's presence on TV, which maintains the continued demise of TV.
For liberal Democrats and the Old Media, everything is crisis, chaos, calamity and catastrophe. That justifies stealing your property and liberties.
I’d snuggle under a Snuggie with Erin any day.
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 19:16 ET by CTCarbon Credits Smoke'em if you got'em!