Slankets and Snuggies: The Mockable Sells

Parodied by YouTube videos and mocked by Jay Leno, the blanket with arms known as the Slanket—or its knockoff the Snuggie—is getting a lot of attention for a useless invention, writes Dara Lind for Culture11. As Leno points out, “It’s like wearing a bathrobe backwards," but the kitschy infomercial is selling more than fleece for the unbelievably low price of $19.95. In 2009, being wrapped up in a blanket suggests comfort, solitude, and thrift. “You don’t want to raise your heating bill,” chirps the Snuggie pitchwoman.

What's more, the digital lambasting of the infomercial gives the product ironic appeal. "It's a textbook guilty pleasure," Lind writes. "No one admits to buying a Slanket, but receiving one for Christmas from an embarrassing relative is entirely acceptable—as is bragging about how warm and comfortable you are as a result."



(More Snuggie stories.)