What we can all learn from The Snuggie

Admit it.  You’ve seen the ads, and you can’t turn them off.  Happy people, and warm and cozy while reading a book, watching TV or even at a ball game (!).

I’m of course referring to The Snuggie.  The product that has broken out of the realm of the late-night info-mercial and become an icon.

(Don’t you love how those commercials are made, showing how much trouble people had with ordinary blankets?  Personally, I’ve never had trouble operating a blanket.)

What’s the lesson in The Snuggie?  That sometimes great ideas are a matter of turning things around.  Trying a new perspective.

Go into your closet.  Get out your bathrobe.  Put it on backwards.  Poof!  You have a Snuggie.

Let’s try it with a different product.  Go into your garage.  Get out your kid’s tricycle.  Turn it around (and make it bigger, put in a 998cc engine, and bad-ass styling).  Poof!  You have a Spyder.

Now try it with one of your ads, displays, or brochures.  Sometimes turning things around gives you just enough perspective to come up with a new idea.  The result may seem strange at first, but don’t dismiss it right away.  You might have a cultural icon on your hands.