Battle of the Ridiculous Robe/Blankets Rages…

To the history of brand-on-brand slug-fests must be added a couple of robe/blanket hybrids whose wearers can only consider sweatpants, hoodies and moo moos too fashion-forward for such salt-of-the-earth persons as themselves.  Coke/Pepsi and Boeing/Airbus, move over.  Company in the annals of marketing rivalries is coming in the blob-like forms of the Slanket and Snuggie.  Gary Clegg developed a blanket with armholes whilst a shivering college student in Central Maine in the 1990′s, and has been selling his Slankets on QVC since 2007.  His arch rival — and he charges imitator — the Snuggie has eschewed the shopping networks for a two-minute infomercial that has spurred sales of four million units since October.  Aghast at the success of these Goliaths is one Sean Iannuzzi, who beat the top dogs to the punch, selling his Freedom Blankets online since 2005.  He and his wife still hand-craft their product from their home in Palmyra, New Jersey.  The New York Times Feb. 26, 2009