1/19 Snugarific!

Oh the wonderful wonderment of the Snuggie, the blanket with arms. Who doesn't remember seeing this commercial for the first time and thinking, "Yeah right, who would buy that?" Only to be one-upped by the equally ridiculous, unnecessary, and horribly named Forever Lazy.

The Snuggie

These commercials quickly became one of the most laughed at and gawked at items in the history of crappy things advertised at three in the morning around Christmas time for $19.95. Despite this public perspective these things sold like hot cakes off the shelves and here's why.

The Forever Lazy 

Welcome to the first edition of Rhetoric & Pop Culture. There are these things called "Cannons of Rhetoric". They help us explain and break down why media and literature is so effective, especially in speeches, or in this case really stupid infomercials. These cannons consist of the different parts of the work itself.

Invention: The search for persuasive ways to present information and formulate arguments.
Arrangement: Organization of the parts of a presentation to ensure that all means of persuasion are present and properly disposed.
Style: The use of correct language
Memory: The use of mnemonics and practice
Delivery: Presenting the message with effective gestures and vocal modulation.

Also useful when analyzing this type of research are these three Greek words,
Ethos- Credibility
Pathos- Emotional Appeal
Logos- Logic

Within these two commercials the invention is ever present. The commercial takes us through several scenarios where both the Snuggie and the Forever Lazy could be useful and even economical. By saving money on your heating bills, and staying warm and comfortable while still having mobility both products seem to prove themselves to the viewer. The formulation of these arguments is simple. The logos or logical appeal is that the blanket will come to save you time and money in the future. Pathos, the emotional appeal is presented as keeping you happy and comfortable. Lastly Ethos or the credible part of the argument is that these products are made from the "finest fleece" and every member of the family will love them.

The arrangement of these commercials are identical. First they suck you in buy saving you money. They keep you reeled in by showing all of the frustrations of normal blankets. Then they capture you with the guaranteed wonderment and love of the product followed by an irresistible free flashlight. Wow, so tempting! Every line is set in a certain place to get you to buy.

The style of the two ads is done in a what I like to call, "real housewife" voice. The tone is calm, light, and fun. Mrs. Jones has three snuggies see? Wouldn't you like to have some as well? Look how useful they are for every household.

Memory seems to be the hardest of the cannons to pick up on. Most times memory is defined by the presenter of the product or speech and how he delivers and remembers the speech. I like to view it also as a way the viewer is meant to remember the speech. Here, I imagine every time hereafter a person that has seen this commercial and then needed to reach for something while covered in a traditional blakent will think back on the snuggie or the forever lazy and think, "Damn, that was a good idea." This to me is another form of memory that leads to sales and increased revenue.

Lastly, we have the delivery. The delivery here is the icing on the cake. The way in which these commercials are being presented is such that they are prime targets for parody. However, the graphics and reenactments are what really adds to the commercials. Without those scenes and fluctuating tone we wouldn't feel bad for throwing away money or not being lazy. The visual and tonal aspects of these commercials are what sells them. We feel stupid for not thinking of the backwards robe in the first place, thus enabling us to buy buy buy! 

Therefore, while these commercials are both meaningless and hilarious, through the proper use and representation of the rhetorical cannons, these commercials sold millions of these products.

Here's a few parody's to make your day better and to point out what you really should have noticed the first time you watched these.

The WTF Blanket

Failure Pants

Stay aware America!