I was in a pub recently (amazing thing, for a writer) and the whole place stopped to cheer and remark upon the television ad which had interrupted the wall of sports broadcasts above the bar: It was for The Snuggie.
Perhaps you’ve seen this, either in an ad or one the shelves of a drug store near you, “As Seen on TV!” seal included. It’s a blanket. Oh, but not just a blanket. It’s a blanket with sleeves. Because as the ad asserts, “Blankets are OK but they can slip and slide, plus your hands are trapped inside.” Well, we can’t have that.
Thanks to the Internet, The Snuggie has reached cultural saturation in a matter of months; in earlier eras, it wouldn’t become a matter of ironic worship until it was a generation removed from its first appearance on the overnight SportsCenter.
You can get your Snuggie in three different colors, get one for the price of two, AND bag a book light, all of the low, low price of $19.95, which of course brings into question the quality of any part of this amazing offer. It might also explain why The Snuggie is rampantly popular without anyone actually, you know, owning one. It is the Chia Pet of the new millennium.
The Snuggie has already warmed the hearts of the powers that be at The Big Bang Theory, which gave a sleeve- blanket shoutout on its season finale. Far from simply lying there for a punchline, The Snuggie actually played a part in the plot.
If you see anyone actually wearing one of these on the new fall lineup, let me know immediately. That’s breaking news of the biggest kind.
