Hopefully that effect, however small, spreads to their other interactions long after the lights are off and the sun comes up. My hope is that over the next few years, and perhaps beyond that, the lights brighten people’s experience of San Francisco whether they see them every night or they’re one of the 16 million that visit the city every year. The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. It was an honor to chip in along with the thousands of other supporters who have already donated to make the project a reality. I was happy to make the first monetary donation when the project got started, and as of last week I was able to make a closing bookend donation for the remaining amount they needed, a bit above $1.5M. By our math, it’s about $200 million to be exact (20,000,000 Snuggies sold x $19.95/2 items = a truckload).The news came out this weekend on Mercury News and the Chronicle, so it’s worth addressing here: The Bay Lights, a public art project that uses San Francisco’s Bay Bridge as its canvas, is a project I’ve supported since I first heard of it and the idea captured my imagination. 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.
#Ifart patch series
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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