I know you have seen this thing over and over already, but just in case, here is the idea: The Snuggie is a blanket with sleeves. I’m not saying that as some vague description, that’s their slogan. Snuggie: The Blanket With Sleeves.

Now, at first glance, you may think: Hmm, a blanket with sleeves. Sounds like, I don’t know, a SWEATSHIRT. Or a SWEATER. Or a FLEECE PULLOVER. But the brilliance of the Snuggie is not in the innovation. It is in the way they sell it. The commercial is pure brilliance from beginning to end.

Scene 1: Woman sitting on couch in thin white sweater of some kind. She appears to be cold based on the way that she is shivering while crossing her arms. The narrator says, quite reasonably: "You want to keep warm when you’re feeling chilled but you don’t want to raise your heating bill." The raising of the heating bill is symbolized by a cartoon arrow with dollar signs on it going up in the air and the sound of a cash register bell going off. Tension has already been set in motion. This early scene is shot in stark black and white, like it’s the movie "Double Indemnity."

Scene 2: Woman laying down on couch, only now she’s trying to cover herself in a thread-bare blanket and she’s having one heck of a difficult time with it. The blanket simply will not cooperate. Oh no! The narrator says: "Blankets are OK, but they can slip and slide." I love the early concession "Blankets are OK." This is not an attempt to put blanket people out of business, they want that clear upfront. There is a cordless telephone next to the woman; this will play a key role in our next scene.

Scene 3: Woman TRIES to reach for the phone. But the blanket will not allow her to get it immediately. It takes at least .8 seconds for her to get the phone. The narrator says: "And when you need to reach for something, your hands are trapped inside." This has to be the single greatest moment in television history; this moment when an actress is attempting to demonstrate how difficult it is to reach for a telephone when your hands are trapped inside a blanket. She makes O.J. trying on the glove look like Coppola in Godfather III. She tries to reach for the phone, but she can’t quite get it right away, and then she has the most priceless look in the world, this look that says: "Oh, wow, haven’t we all been here, trying to get that doggone phone when we’re wrapped in a blanket, oh, if they can put a man on the moon and find a cure for polio, why oh why can’t they find a way to free my hands from a blanket!"

Scene 4: Everything bursts in full color! And the narrator says: "Now, there’s the Snuggie. The blanket that has sleeves!" The woman demonstrates by putting on this very red robe type thing that you put on the same way that you put on hospital gowns. Narrator: "The Snuggie keeps you totally warm, and gives you the freedom to use your hands." The woman then demonstrates how easy it is to reach for the phone while wearing the Snuggie. Look, it is easy! And she has this wonderful smile on her face, one that says: "Yes! American technology!" It seems a tad bit unfortunate that she is using a cordless phone that looks like it’s right out of 1989, but I’m guessing people with 1989 cordless phones would probably be the target audience.

Follow-up scenes: Man in Snuggie who looks a lot like Friar Tuck sits in a recliner and shows conclusively that the Snuggie does not constrict remote control freedom of movement. There's also an older woman in a Snuggie reading a book (but you say: Isn’t it too dark there to read a book? We’ll get back to you on that one!) Then there's a fairly young man wearing a Snuggie going to work on his computer while the narrator says, "Use your laptop without being cold!" Friar Tuck is back, this time he’s hungry and wants to have a bowl of popcorn and he CAN because the Snuggie has sleeves!

Product Close-up of Snuggie: A hand goes lightly over the top while narrator tells us about the Snuggie’s softness.

Older woman is back, now she’s knitting with the Snuggie which seems an odd thing to do since I thought the whole point of this commercial is that actual CLOTHES have become obsolete. Original woman is back now, and she’s reading a book to a young girl who looks absolutely nothing like her but is apparently supposed to be the daughter. The daughter is wearing a Snuggie too. A new slogan, "Wrapped in Warmth!" appears on the screen.

And so on. There are some amazing follow ups: a man and a woman standing next to each other, both wearing Snuggies, looking like they are in some kind of monastery; a woman proving she could hold a baby OR a dog with her Snuggie; a campfire scene right out of the "Blair Witch Project With Snuggies," a young woman sitting in her college dorm room wearing a Snuggie, apparently content to live a dateless life on campus and so on. And then, believe it or not, there are two scenes that top all the rest:

1. There’s a scene of the family: the guy who was working on his laptop, the woman who was so frustrated reaching for the phone, their daughter who looks nothing like either one - all of them at a ballgame, surrounded by people dressed in normal clothes like coats. And the three of them are sitting in the middle of it all, wearing these preposterous Snuggies, looking, seriously, like they are in some sort of very frightening fleece cult. It’s no wonder the people around them are trying desperately to ignore the dangerous Snuggie Family and just watch the game. It’s like a Coen brothers movie!

2. The narrator says: "Similar products sell for up to sixty dollars." I appreciate that every infomercial must have the 'similar products' line in it. But in this case, well, similar products? Really? There have been previous unsuccessful attempts to sell the blanket with sleeves? And two: these failed entrepreneurs decided that sixty dollars was about the right price point? The narrator then offers the Snuggie for the amazing price of $14.95, which really is an amazing price. And it comes in three colors.

The commercial reiterates the many features of the Snuggie: you can use your remote, it will keep you warm, it has sleeves... and then they offer the bonus prize: a compact, press-and-open book-light, apparently so Grandma in her Snuggie can read the third "Twilight" book without raising her electricity bill.* That’s a $15 value absolutely free!

*I often wonder how they decide which cheap contraption gets to be the main item and which one has to be the lousy bonus prize. Like, couldn’t this have been a whole commercial about the press-and-open book-light, and as a bonus you get the blanket with sleeves? I’m sure they have market analysts who study it.

For people like me who love infomercials, this is Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, this is The Contest, this is Starry Night, this is the best-there-has-ever-been utterly worthless product, based on an entirely absurd premise and sold by actors who are apparently from outer space. It’s a masterpiece!

Now who's bought one????

There's no way I can read your entire post. It's way too long for me to pay attention that long.

I didn't even read it, but the commercial cracks me up.


Actually I would use one but why not just cut a hole in a blanket?

i love it!

Who knew that a monastic fashion sense could be so functional.

I urge anyone who wants to remain celibate to get one of these and wear it as often as possible.

I live in Iowa so having a Snuggie would be awfully nice during the winter. I thought about buying one for my mom since she's cold 365 days of the year. That 2 for $19.99 bargain is mighty enticing.

This sort of thing would be perfect for the smoker who is not allowed to smoke in the house. They can put their Snuggie on and go outside to burn one.

As awesome as this commercial is, it pales in comparison to the Magic Bullet informercial. That thing is likely to start your house on fire!

I can't tell what it is from the description, but got this from googling - is this it?

Yes

My son says it looks like the Pope's robe!

ZombieKitten said:

That guy looks so goofy.

I liked it better when it was called a "Robe".

MuthaFunka said:

I want to see a picture of you in a Snuggie.

hokie said:

I can't wait to wear one of these at a sporting event.

MuthaFunka said:

Your big bad self in a monk robe. I think it'd be quite amusing.

MoniGram said:

was so gonna say that! it sooo does! or a monk or something

I think the greater tragedy is someone out there is makin' a mint of this nuevo-poncho...

this is how some people roll a Murcielago while others push a Dodge Van...

I won't lie... I fully planned to buy myself a Snuggie for Christmas. Yeah, I LIKE monastic chic!!

...But I'm not sure that they have a back!?! If they are a full-on pullover or have a back that fastens, I'm totally getting one. But I think they're pretty dumb if they've got your backside hanging out.
[Edited 2/7/09 20:21pm]

I saw this informercial and laughed at it with my kids...I said it was just a backwards robe. Then my friend got one as a gift in an office grab....and she keeps telling me how great it is.....

StillGotIt said:

Does it have a closed backside? Ask her! Ask her!

Lammastide said:

Put down the credit card. Put down the phone. I bet you got a few choice comforters already. And, a robe.

This is the most unnecessary gift I've seen in a long, long time. It's up there with the pet rock.

ThreadBare said:

I'll try, man. I'll try.


I should have taken up the ordination track.

Lammastide said:

Tell me about it. But that's another story.

hokie said:

Like a Shoalin Monk!

MuthaFunka said:

*... up from the 36 chambers!!*

RenHoek said:

Shawnt25 said:

Right. Try walking into the Linc with one of those on...

reminds me of a hospital gown with the back all open like that!

violator said:

On second thought you may be right. I might intimidate too many people.

"Baby grab your coat. It's time to go. That man has a snuggie on."

ZombieKitten said:

Damn, Harry Potter got old.