Commercial Variations
The product was first commercialized as the Freedom Blanket.
The Slanket was created by Gary Clegg using a sleeping bag and was helped in the creation of his prototype by Ryan Lafayette in Maine in 1998 (before the Snuggie). Clegg's mother made him a blanket with a single sleeve for use in his cold dorm room. Clegg later developed that into the Slanket with two sleeves.
The Snuggie sleeved blanket product has been sold in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It was marketed primarily through a memorable television commercial. As of January 2009, over 20 million of the product had been sold.
Germany markets an electric version of the Snuggie that has a control with four temperature settings. The company markets the Snuggie via its website and television commercials along with many other as-seen-on-TV products.
The Doojo sleeved blanket is a German product and its first prototype was created in 2005 by Darko Sulentic. Doojo is patented for all European countries and patent pending in North America conditioned by its particular design of a sleeved blanket with integrated gloves. The product obtained already nine different awards for design and innovation and became extremely popular in Europe. Two additional colorful collections of blankets for babies and kids complete the range.
Another well-known variant, the "Toasty Wrap", has been sold via infomercials hosted by Montel Williams as a method for saving on heating costs. However, based on the similarities of the Toasty Wrap's advertising to that of Snuggie, brandfreak.com suggests that it is probable that both brands originate with the same manufacturer.
The rock band Weezer released its own Snuggie blanket in November 2009; which is available in solid blue with the name "Weezer" on it in white font. It has been dubbed the "Wuggie".
Other variations are known as the Cuddlee (DealsDirect), and the Dreamie which is sold in discount and variety stores.
It is sometimes marketed as a "comfy blanket".
A blanket called GO-GO Blanket holds the US patent for child-sized sleeved blankets. GO-GO Blanket was created as a travel blanket for children (up to size 5) which complies with federal safety regulations for car seats and strollers. GO-GO Blankets were created in 2007 by a grandmother in New Jersey who wanted to find a solution to keeping children safe and warm in a car seat without bulky winter wear.
There is also an Italian version sold in Europe, Canada, and Japan called the "Kanguru" with a pocket in the middle.
Read more about this topic: Sleeved Blanket
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