A Blanket With Sleeves

Written by my friend Betty Walls

The advertisement for the Snuggie hits all of the classic hallmarks of a television infomercial. It begins by presenting a problem that many people did not know they had- difficulty using a blanket. I love this commercial because of the anguished looks on the faces of the actors as they struggle to answer a telephone or grab a soda without disrupting their blanket.

The solution, as they show us, is the Snuggie. This is essentially a blanket with sleeves. It looks a lot like a backwards bathrobe. During the first few shots of the Snuggie, we see now that all of the actors are much happier having donned the product. They smile wide as they reach for their remote controls without having to leave the warmth of their Snuggie.

The commercial does not end there, though. Instead we are taken outdoors where the camera shows us an entire family dressed in Snuggies sitting around a campfire. We also get to see a happy couple at a sporting event cheering in the winter while wearing their blankets.

The commercial stands out in my mind because of the amount of effort that was put into making everyone wearing a blanket with sleeves in public seem completely normal. The most priceless shot is that of the entire family going about their business wearing the Snuggie. They look almost like robed monks in a procession.

The infomercial ends, as many of them do late at night on cable, by offering to throw in an additional random product that is seemingly unrelated. This time it was a folding reading light. This is, by far, my favorite commercial.