What can we learn about marketing from Snuggie? A whole lot! I remember seeing the first commercials for Snuggie and thinking that they wouldn’t last a week. It’s been almost a year now. I believe they were first on TV in February 2009 and they are going strong. Well, I never!
A Snuggie is just a blanket that you wear with sleeves. There’s nothing to tie to keep it closed. Some people have called it a bathrobe worn backwards, others have called the Snuggie movement a cult. There have been parodies of the commercials on YouTube, but there have also been Snuggie parties, Tweetups, Facebook groups and Snuggie pub crawls.
What type of marketing was used to make the Snuggie a household name despite it’s flaws? First that darn commercial was everywhere. If you watched TV for an hour, you’d be sure to see one of their ads and maybe even twice. Is it the same as the “teeth whitening” banners and ads we see all over the Internet? The Snuggie ad had some entertainment value, even if it was to think it was the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen. You just couldn’t help but watch. Sort of like an accident.
The people who made the parodies weren’t hit up with law suits. They were allowed to make them. This in turn had more people trying to outdo the other videos. They went viral on their own with Snuggies laughing all the way to the bank.
Along with parodies, came celebrities showing off their Snuggies. Ellen DeGeneres spoofed them on her show, then Jay Leno. If you didn’t know about them by now, you were hiding under a rock. And to continue with their success, Snuggie has added a children’s line and even Snuggies For Dogs. Don’t forget the gag gifts that were bought over the holidays. Do you think Snuggie cared?
Learn from a pro like Snuggie and get your marketing on.
