I don't really understand the scorn that people pour on the snuggie. Every time I've bundled under a blanket in the winter I have to either expose my arms (which means exposing my shoulders and half my chest in practice) or not do anything with my hands at all. It sucks, and sleeves are the one thing that makes blankets usable.<p>My working theory as of now is that the mockers probably live in warm West Coast cities where there's no need for a blanket at all, ever, so they've never personally encountered the problem.
Excellent comparison. I too thought the snuggie was a joke, but a clever part of their strategy was that they launched in late summer/fall...people laughed about it, but by the time it got cold, (and the product became useful) they were already aware of it.<p>It's also a good lesson in the importance of branding - it has a good name instead of a descriptor, and not a web-2.0-meaningless-name either. Surprisingly, these kind of products been on the market for <i>10 years</i>. But 'slanket' sounds like some kind of endangered fish that nobody cares about (edit: as below, it may be a better product, but I still say that a bad name = bad sales) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeved_blanket" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeved_blanket</a><p>Every time I get the urge to mock the snuggie, I just think about the fact they've sold >4 million of them.
Ice cream glove - a product that fixes a minor problem that very few people have very rarely.<p>Snuggie (or the Slanket for the upper crust) - a product that fixes a problem that cold people have while watching television. Probably advertised to them while they're watching television too.<p>Really can't tell the difference?
One thing that the article misses is that there <i>is</i> a way to tell the difference: do <i>you</i> find your product useful?<p>Clearly there are major limitations to this heuristic; you might be strange or exceptional in some way that makes the inference fail, and a sample size of one (or even two, three, four etc.) will not give you the same certainty as a large userbase. It is, however, better than nothing.<p>Note that this is not an "exercise at the whiteboard"—you have to actually build the thing. Given this caveat, their claim holds, but there's a clearly identifiable step (actually, there are several, but this distinction is not necessary for the argument at hand) between scribbling on a whiteboard and releasing a product for public use.
> So how can you tell the difference between an Ice Cream Glove and a Snuggie? You can’t.<p>Steve Jobs can. :-)<p>I'm only half joking. I know of no name for whatever ethereal quality Jobs possesses, but it is often the difference between a successful entrepreneur and an unsuccessful one.<p>Building every single product idea to the point that you can get it into customers hands just requires too many resources. You have to narrow down the playing field before you start prototyping, even. It's impossible to let your customers make <i>all</i> the decisions.<p>Some people just have the innate crystal ball which tells them what customers want and what they don't.
<i>So how can you tell the difference between an Ice Cream Glove and a Snuggie? You can’t. Only your customers can. There is literally no exercise at the whiteboard you can use to find this out ahead of time. A lot of startups - and a lot of technologists - make this mistake.</i><p>I know I have. We're so used to attacking problems on the whiteboard, we often forget about the one of the biggest problems of all: when to turn off the computer and shut down the whiteboard. Can lead to very expensive mistakes.
I love Snuggie. Their video makes me want to buy one because of it's "emotional" marketing. All of the circumstances they're showing - getting up to grab drink, chilling on the couch while watching tv etc..I can see myself doing.
I didn't watch the Ali G video, but I could actually see myself buying an ice cream glove if it was presented(read marketed) well..
I like ice cream and I hate using up napkins after eating ice cream.
The Snuggie is actually a great product if you often laptop in a cold house. It keeps you warm but still lets you use your arms. Although I much prefer the slightly more expensive Slanket. This review of all the products on the market probably started as a joke (they include a review of a robe warn backward), but the info turns out to be good:
<a href="http://community.cbs47.tv/blogs/techtracker/archive/2009/03/31/3796903.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://community.cbs47.tv/blogs/techtracker/archive/2009/03/...</a>
Same as this one in different language, interesting that people keep rediscovering this.<p><a href="http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2006/03/is_your_product.html" rel="nofollow">http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2006/03/is_yo...</a>
why don't people wear sweaters and sweat pants over their clothes? and a hat. so much heat is lost through the head! if i did have a snuggie the first thing i'd do is sew on a hood.<p>when i go pond swimming in the fall and spring (in NewEngland), i didn't buy a wetsuit. i just wear the clothes i already have into the water. and sturdy hat. man, the hat makes all the difference.