Within a couple of days the TouchPad was sold out everywhere but eBay where some profiteers were attempting to cash-in on the frenzy. BestBuy faced with lines of eager customers did an about-face and started selling the TouchPad again. Within hours the discussion forums, tech blogs and twitter were buzzing with the news – retailers’ and HP’s online store were crashing from the demand. The next day the TouchPad was quietly put on clearance at $100 for the 16GB model and $150 for the 32GB model.
Then on August 18, about six weeks after its launch, HP announced that they were discontinuing the TouchPad and their smartphone line. was pulling the TouchPad off their shelves and would be returning 250,000 units (which was more than the total sold to consumers). Reports started to circulate that BestBuy, Inc. Three days later they decide to make the price change permanent. HP reacts and offers a $50 discount and then a week later a $100 instant rebate for a weekend. They send out a couple of updates to webOS and things seem better, but sales remain bleak. By our math, it’s about $200 million to be exact (20,000,000 Snuggies sold x $19.95/2 items = a truckload).The reviews were lukewarm at best, based on webOS 3.0 bugs, somewhat inadequate hardware, a small app offering and pricing that matched Apple’s iPad at $499 for a 16GB model. Whatever the magic marketing recipe is, creator Scott Boilen is rolling in a few hundred million. I received a text from a friend just before Christmas, “Tell me what you want, otherwise you’re getting a leopard print Snuggie.”Īnd of course there’s its cutesy name that makes it sound more like a stuffed animal than quasi-apparel. The buzz has led to Snuggie pub crawls, YouTube Snuggie mockery clips and a lot of gag gifts. Jay Leno, Whoopie Goldberg and Ellen DeGeneres all featured the product on their shows. The ads, which featured a Snuggie-clad family roasting marshmallows together and cheering at sports games, quickly became media sensations. Bottom line: if a product is ridiculous, it should be sold in the funniest way possible. $10 million worth of infomercials in a down economy will do the trick.Īlso read: 12 money-saving moves that are actually more expensive in the long runīut humor is the selling strategy that made the Snuggie a star. How did the silly two for $19.95 blanket with sleeves shove aside its Slanket and Freedom Blanket predecessors? Some think the “cult of Snuggie” came to be through an abundance of advertising. But the Snuggie, which sold 20 million items in its first year, is no laughing matter. It’s as simple as putting on a bathrobe backwards and an idea so ridiculous it isn’t patentable. Ridiculously Rich Person Behind It: Scott Boilen, President of Allstar Products Ben has created six sister sites, landed a book deal that was a New York Times Best Seller, and the company makes an estimated half a million from book sales alone. In 2007, Tofu burger and Cheezburger sold the site for $2MM to now CEO, Ben Huh. The site now receives more than 35 million hits per month and 8,000 daily submissions.
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The domain name came from the caption they wrote for the feline, “I can has cheezburger?” A series of follow up photos about the fat cat obtaining a cheezburger followed, and soon fans began submitting their own creations. Their original goal? To share the chubby tubby image pictured here (which jolted the pair into an alleged 73 minute laughing fit) with as many people who cared to see. The concept of creating ridiculous captions for absurd animal photos began with a photo of one very fat cat and ended with Eric and Kari becoming millionaires. Ridiculously Wealthy People Behind It: Eric Nakagawa (aka Cheezburger) and Kari Unebasami (aka Tofu burger) When we asked Joel how much his app made to date, he told us there were more than 600,000 downloads, netting him and his company InfoMedia somewhere in the ballpark of $400K. To quote Jimmy Kimmel, “If everyone in America gives as much as they spent on the iFart App, Haiti will be saved.” His application has been buzzed about all over the media and pranksters everywhere love the 26 flatulent noises it encompasses, including “Record-A-Fart,” “Fart-a-Friend,” and “Sneak Attack.” The app was downloaded 113,885 during its first two weeks on the market. Hate on it all you want, Joel Comm gets the last laugh.
And, the absolutely insane part about this all? Joel Comm was right. What’s even crazier? He thought people would pay for the app. Somewhere, in Joel Comm’s sordid mind, out squeaked the iFart, the whoopee cushion for the iPhone. Here's a half-assed, half-a-million-dollar idea for you. Ridiculously Rich Person Behind It: Joel Comm
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