Deadly competitor of Snuggie and Slanket is now off the market
Posted on Wed Jun 17 2009We've given Snuggies a hard time since the early days of BrandFreak with good reason: Namely, mass-marketed monk robes are hilarious. We've also expanded our blankets-with-sleeves coverage to include the Slanket, which has since been immortalized by Salma Hayek on 30 Rock. Now, we have to give credit where credit is due. First, these comfy robes (which we likely won't hear from again until the weather turns cold) helped everyone realize just how powerful direct response TV can be. The effect has been amplified by a down economy where people want to feel cozy for cheap and get a free reading light to boot. Still, for all of the goofiness of these products, at least they don't kill people. The same can't be said of Blair LLC's chenille robes. At least six people have died due to these comfortable but highly flammable robes, which are made in Pakistan. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Blair issued a recall of 162,000 of the robes. So now both Slanket and Suggies can take the liberty of marketing themselves as comfortable, warm ... and safe.
—Posted by Kenneth Hein