From an article I just saw over at AdAge:
Marketing’s New Red-Hot Seller: Humble Snuggie
That’s right.
The blanket with sleeves is one of the hottest selling items these days. Selling more than 4 million units in the past three months, Snuggies has made just under $40 million in retail sales.
There’s even reports of customers swamping stockers and grabbing all the Snuggies before they even reach the shelves at Bed, Bath & Beyond or Walgreens, the first two retailers to carry the blankets.
Imagine that, people trampling one another to get a blanket that has sleeves on it.
Why?
Well, I think the 200 videos on YouTube that are parodies of the product’s goofy commercial might have something to do with it. This one has nearly 150,000 views.
I had a feeling that Snuggies would succeed, despite their lame storytelling. Should be fun to watch how this trend plays out, but I’m still thinking they missed an opportunity to be huge.
I think the lesson here is that for some products, the story is so obvious that no matter how bad you screw up your marketing, the world will step in and show you how to really tell it.
Odds are though, you’re not that lucky.
6 Comments
January 27, 2009 at 2:16 pm
so do you feel bad for the previous guy who invented the Slanket? same concept, double the price, but nearly no sales.
PS- Snuggies have become part of people’s Facebook statuses now
January 27, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Wow. I actually just Googled the Slanket and what do you know:
http://www.theslanket.com/
…this is actually a great example of how two of the same products can lead very different lives based on the stories they tell.
And no doubt, there’s some timing and luck involved here too.
Thanks for the heads-up on the Slanket.
February 12, 2009 at 7:10 pm
[...] I’m saying, “NO ONE WOULD BUY THAT.” But with the news that the Snuggie sold 4 million units in 3 months, crazy thoughts began popping in my head. Maybe the Snuggie is real, maybe I should get one, maybe [...]
March 3, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I think this is going to be huge here in Japan. It seems like one of those things that will just fit in.
March 7, 2009 at 11:32 pm
I cannot believe the phenom that the snuggie has become! It is insane…isnt it just a backwards robe?
March 13, 2009 at 10:37 pm
the government should send out Snuggies in addition to stimulus checks to help everyone feel financially and emotionally comforted