Body-length blanket with sleeves usually made of fleece or nylon material
Child in a Doojo sleeve blanket
A sleeved blanket is a body-length blanket with sleeves usually made of fleece or nylon material. It is similar in design to a bathrobe but is meant to be worn backwards (i.e., with the opening in the back). The product has been marketed by various brands but the original company was Slanket created by Gary Clegg, then other companies like Snuggie®, Snuggler, Doojo, and Toasty Wrap, copying the brand later. It comes with varying sizes, colors and qualities of materials but similar basic design.[1]
Popularity
A woman wearing a blue Snuggie
In late 2008 and early 2009 the SNUGGIE® brand of sleeved blankets became a pop culture phenomenon,[2][3] sometimes described humorously as a "cult".[2][4][5]
The product became famous after a direct response commercial promoting the product was aired. It was featured on television programs like Today where cast and crew donned SNUGGIE® blankets for a segment which was described as looking like a Black Protestant choir.[6] Others have described mass-snuggie wearing as looking like a Harry Potter convention.[7] The Associated Press likened it to a "monk's ensemble in fleece" and proclaimed it the "ultimate kitsch gift". The SNUGGIE® brand sleeved blanket initially sold singly for $14.95, and later in sets of two for $19.95.[citation needed]
The Slanket was mentioned in an episode of NBC's 30 Rock entitled "The Ones". The product has also been ridiculed as a "backwards robe" or simple reinvention of the coat on radio and television talk shows in the United States.[2] Comparisons have also been made with the Thneed, a highly promoted, amorphous garment in the Dr. Seuss story, The Lorax.[8]
On January 30, 2009, a group organized a pub crawl wearing Snuggies in Cincinnati, Ohio.[9] In the following months, they went on to complete over 40 more across the nation. Later, a group organized a Snuggie pub crawl in Chicago to raise money for an African orphanage, which led to similar events throughout the United States.[3][4] An employee at Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative think tank, started a Facebook page called "The Snuggie Cult" and convinced fellow conservatives including Joe the Plumber, Tucker Carlson, and Andrew Breitbart to pose wearing the robes.[10]
The phenomenon resulted in sales of the SNUGGIE® brand sleeved blanket and its rivals that far exceeded their distributors' expectations: more than 4 million Snuggies as of December 2009[update][11] and 1 million Slankets as of February 2009[update].[5] The phenomenon has even resulted in variations such as "Snuggie for Dogs"[12] and Snuggie with printed patterns.[13]
In the summer of 2009, the Designer SNUGGIE® was released to the public, as well as the Snuggie® for Kids and the Snuggie® for Dogs.[14]
On March 5, 2010, at a Cleveland Cavaliers game, Snuggie wearers broke a world record for sleeved blanket wearing. Over 22,500 fans wore custom-made, limited edition Cavaliers Snuggie blankets for 5 minutes. A Guinness World Records representative was on hand to present the official World Record certificate to KeyBank, the Cavaliers, and Snuggie.[15] However, in just a little over a month, the feat was broken during a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home game when over 40,000 spectators wore a promotional Hideki Matsui sleeved blanket for five minutes.[16]
In March 2018, Allstar Marketing Group, owner of the "Snuggie" brand, was fined $7.5 million by the US Federal Trade Commission for deceptive marketing and to provide refunds to deceived customers.[17]
The product was first commercialized as the Freedom Blanket.[5]
The Slanket was created by Gary Clegg using a sleeping bag in Maine in 1998 (before the Snuggie). Clegg's mother made him a blanket with a single sleeve for use in his cold dorm room. Clegg later developed that into the Slanket with two sleeves.[21][22]
The SNUGGIE® sleeved blanket product has been sold in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It was marketed primarily through a television commercial.[23] As of January 2009[update], over 20 million of the product had been sold.[2][11][24]
Another variant, the Toasty Wrap, has been sold via infomercials hosted by Montel Williams as a method for saving on heating costs.[25] However, based on the similarities of the Toasty Wrap's advertising to that of SNUGGIE®, BrandFreak suggested that it is probable that both brands originate with the same manufacturer.[26]
The rock band Weezer released its own Snuggie blanket in November 2009, which is available in solid blue with the name "Weezer" on it in white font. It has been dubbed the "Wuggie".[27]
It is sometimes marketed as a "comfy blanket".[28]
The former business GO-GO Blanket holds the US patent for child-sized sleeved blankets.[citation needed] GO-GO Blanket was created as a travel blanket for children that claimed compliance with federal safety regulations for car seats and strollers.[29] Another competing product is the Oodie, a knee-length sleeved and hooded blanket founded in Australia.[30]
An Italian version sold in Europe, Canada, and Japan is the "Kanguru," which includes a large front pocket reminiscent of a kangaroo's pouch.[31]
In 2017, a U.S. trade court ruled that the product should be classified as a blanket, rather than clothing, as government lawyers had been trying to claim. In the United States, the tariff on imported blankets is 8.5 percent, whereas the tariff on imported "pullover apparel" is significantly higher at 14.9 percent.[32]
