At the risk of extending the notoriety being given the Snuggie at the moment, I must make some observations. (For those of you who are not acquainted with the Snuggie, please just go turn on daytime TV and the beyond-cheesy commercial will bombard you up and down the dial.) First of all, who is the lucky rube who stumbled accidentally into this fashion juggernaut? I’m sure he’s sitting at a desk somewhere, counting his millions, alternately laughing and checking to make sure the checks are actually addressed to him. And secondly, where did this dude find inspiration for what must be the most unnecessary garment since gaucho pants? Perhaps an unusually plush hospital gown? A fortuitous dark-of-night blind struggle with a robe? Hard to say, yet the whole thing still brings to mind the phrase, “Why the hell didn’t I think of that?” Having spent some time in the fashion biz, I know the costs associated with sampling and production of new products. Putting together this line, must have cost the guy upwards of $10!
Of course, the Snuggie has, in spite of itself, passed the threshold from “useful gadget” to “must have cuz it’s such a goof” item. And hey, I’m sure the folks selling it could care less about peoples’ motivations for purchase. Other kitsch infomercial items have experienced similar success—Pet Rocks, Chia Pets, Ginsu Knives. I’m actually thinking about purchasing the Sham-Wow! Every so often, out of the orbit of unnecessary crap that makes up the world of infomercials, come a few supernovas. This Snuggie is one of those—it definitely has legs. (Well, actually it has arms, the one feature that keeps it a rung up on the evolutionary chain from the common blanket. And Lord knows, haven’t we all been waiting for the blanket to make something new of itself.)
Truly, I’m just jealous. The creative side of me has long wanted to produce a product that was revolutionary in its simplicity, something that people didn’t realize they needed until it appeared on the scene. Remember Ron Popeil? He’s my idol. Here’s the guy that really paved the way for the Snuggie. He’s got to be considered the true pioneer of this kind of gadget marketing. I can remember watching Ron on TV as a kid, hawking the Veg-o-Matic and the Pocket Fisherman. It was all I could do not to throw my babysitting money into an envelope and happily mail it off in anticipation of receiving some items I didn’t need and probably would never use. And who could forget the most ludicrous infomercial product of all—the “Hair in a Can” spray? I can’t say I was hankering for this product, but I did love watching the commercials, like peering through one’s fingers at a horror movie. Men would actually spray this stuff onto their bald spots and, from my vantage point on the couch, it seemed to provide some coverage. It even looked like it added some texture. And this is where it crosses over from kitsch to creepy for me—were there actual hair chunks that sprayed out of that can? If so, whose hair? And from where? YEESH!
Mystery hair chunks aside, as I mentioned, I’ve had a couple of creative ideas through the years. Nothing to give Ron Popeil or Mr. Snuggie a run for their money, but I keep trying to wrap my noodle around the next trend. For example, a few years ago when my kids were younger and were unable to tell time, I had a brainchild for a simple, disposable timer with a brain the size of a watch battery that would be pre-programmed in adjustable, 15-minute increments. Whenever you needed the kid home, the timer would beep to remind them to get the show on the road. It could come in a couple of different forms—something like a bandaid that was really disposable, or a wristlet that could be used again. The device would be called “Timezup!” and it would help mothers to give time parameters to their young children who might be out in the yard or down the street at a friend’s house. I even had images of this device having military applications. Like when soldiers are on the down low reconnoitering in some dangerous area and need to make sure they meet up at a specified time and place. All they would need to do would be to synchronize their Timezup! bandaids or wristlets for the same 15 minute interval and they would have complete accuracy for their rendezvous planning. But Marcy, you ask, wouldn’t all that simultaneous beeping of the Timezup! devices give the enemy a bead on our soldiers’ positions? Couldn’t they just wear watches and remember to look down at their wrists? And I say to you…details, my friends. Mere formalities to be worked out with the DOD.
I’ve had other ideas, too. There’s one involving the home interiors market that may hold more promise, but I just don’t know where to begin. My husband and I love interior decorating and have always noticed that most people don’t know what the heck to do with their mantles. In our experience, it really doesn’t take much to artfully arrange a mantle, but most people really do either over- or under-do it. And though that may apply to their entire home decorating scheme, I’m just trying to bite off a little bit that I can manage in one sales pitch. So, we came up with an idea for “Mantle in a Box” with a few key items that will give any mantle that showhouse panache!!! Conjuring up the various mantle concepts is easy—country, modern, traditional—but then comes the logistics phase—finding the product, ordering in bulk, packaging—and that’s where we get lost.
So as much as we may be rolling our eyes over this Snuggie craze, those people really solved for the right equation—moronic plus simplistic equals cha-ching!!! If I’m going to be successful at this, I need to think low-tech. If I could just order a bunch of polyster plush blanket material, cut it into strips that would fit a mantle and offer it in leopard, zebra and mauve, I’d probably have a hit. And I'm not giving up on my military applications pitch--I could do a copycat Snuggie for the military in camo, either desert brown or jungle green. Selling to the government is where you really cash in. They'd probably pay twice the price and I'd throw in some Timezup! prototypes! All I can say is, this craze has my juices flowing. Now if I could just find a way to glue my construction hardhat to this I-beam...
Of course, the Snuggie has, in spite of itself, passed the threshold from “useful gadget” to “must have cuz it’s such a goof” item. And hey, I’m sure the folks selling it could care less about peoples’ motivations for purchase. Other kitsch infomercial items have experienced similar success—Pet Rocks, Chia Pets, Ginsu Knives. I’m actually thinking about purchasing the Sham-Wow! Every so often, out of the orbit of unnecessary crap that makes up the world of infomercials, come a few supernovas. This Snuggie is one of those—it definitely has legs. (Well, actually it has arms, the one feature that keeps it a rung up on the evolutionary chain from the common blanket. And Lord knows, haven’t we all been waiting for the blanket to make something new of itself.)
Truly, I’m just jealous. The creative side of me has long wanted to produce a product that was revolutionary in its simplicity, something that people didn’t realize they needed until it appeared on the scene. Remember Ron Popeil? He’s my idol. Here’s the guy that really paved the way for the Snuggie. He’s got to be considered the true pioneer of this kind of gadget marketing. I can remember watching Ron on TV as a kid, hawking the Veg-o-Matic and the Pocket Fisherman. It was all I could do not to throw my babysitting money into an envelope and happily mail it off in anticipation of receiving some items I didn’t need and probably would never use. And who could forget the most ludicrous infomercial product of all—the “Hair in a Can” spray? I can’t say I was hankering for this product, but I did love watching the commercials, like peering through one’s fingers at a horror movie. Men would actually spray this stuff onto their bald spots and, from my vantage point on the couch, it seemed to provide some coverage. It even looked like it added some texture. And this is where it crosses over from kitsch to creepy for me—were there actual hair chunks that sprayed out of that can? If so, whose hair? And from where? YEESH!
Mystery hair chunks aside, as I mentioned, I’ve had a couple of creative ideas through the years. Nothing to give Ron Popeil or Mr. Snuggie a run for their money, but I keep trying to wrap my noodle around the next trend. For example, a few years ago when my kids were younger and were unable to tell time, I had a brainchild for a simple, disposable timer with a brain the size of a watch battery that would be pre-programmed in adjustable, 15-minute increments. Whenever you needed the kid home, the timer would beep to remind them to get the show on the road. It could come in a couple of different forms—something like a bandaid that was really disposable, or a wristlet that could be used again. The device would be called “Timezup!” and it would help mothers to give time parameters to their young children who might be out in the yard or down the street at a friend’s house. I even had images of this device having military applications. Like when soldiers are on the down low reconnoitering in some dangerous area and need to make sure they meet up at a specified time and place. All they would need to do would be to synchronize their Timezup! bandaids or wristlets for the same 15 minute interval and they would have complete accuracy for their rendezvous planning. But Marcy, you ask, wouldn’t all that simultaneous beeping of the Timezup! devices give the enemy a bead on our soldiers’ positions? Couldn’t they just wear watches and remember to look down at their wrists? And I say to you…details, my friends. Mere formalities to be worked out with the DOD.
I’ve had other ideas, too. There’s one involving the home interiors market that may hold more promise, but I just don’t know where to begin. My husband and I love interior decorating and have always noticed that most people don’t know what the heck to do with their mantles. In our experience, it really doesn’t take much to artfully arrange a mantle, but most people really do either over- or under-do it. And though that may apply to their entire home decorating scheme, I’m just trying to bite off a little bit that I can manage in one sales pitch. So, we came up with an idea for “Mantle in a Box” with a few key items that will give any mantle that showhouse panache!!! Conjuring up the various mantle concepts is easy—country, modern, traditional—but then comes the logistics phase—finding the product, ordering in bulk, packaging—and that’s where we get lost.
So as much as we may be rolling our eyes over this Snuggie craze, those people really solved for the right equation—moronic plus simplistic equals cha-ching!!! If I’m going to be successful at this, I need to think low-tech. If I could just order a bunch of polyster plush blanket material, cut it into strips that would fit a mantle and offer it in leopard, zebra and mauve, I’d probably have a hit. And I'm not giving up on my military applications pitch--I could do a copycat Snuggie for the military in camo, either desert brown or jungle green. Selling to the government is where you really cash in. They'd probably pay twice the price and I'd throw in some Timezup! prototypes! All I can say is, this craze has my juices flowing. Now if I could just find a way to glue my construction hardhat to this I-beam...
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