Snuggie Blanket Captures National Attention

Every now and then, a product becomes more than just a product. It becomes a national sensation. It happened with Beanie Babies, and now it's happening with the Snuggie blanket.

The blanket, as seen in the ad below, is built to keep the whole body, including arms, warm. It takes advantage of the fact that more Americans are staying at home to save money, and they want to be comfortable while there. Advertising Age reports the company sold more than 4 million blankets in three months, helped by the fact that Ellen DeGeneres wore one on her show and at least one attendee of President Obama's inauguration used one to keep warm (and was featured on Fox News doing so).  The original advertisements have already spawned dozens of parodies and remixes on YouTube.

I don't want to knock it because I haven't tried it, but surely the creators could come up with something that looks a bit more stylish? Or perhaps the unique, monk-like garb is what is driving its popularity.

UPDATE: One of my colleagues has just informed me of the Slanket, which is almost identical to the Snuggie. Let the brand wars begin.