Whether it’s the super-absorbent powers of a ShamWow, the callous-eliminating wonders of the PedEgg or the convenient blanket with sleeves ‘-‘- the infamous Snuggie Blanket’-‘- infomercial products are not only getting the attention of jokesters on YouTube and Facebook, they are also attracting paying customers.’ ‘ Although infomercials are typically aired in the middle of the night because of the lower cost for commercial time, the recent decline in advertising has allowed infomercial advertisers to purchase earlier programming times, said College of Communication professor Carolyn Clark. She said infomercials have started making their way to the mainstream media, and some have even appeared during primetime. ‘I think that’s why ShamWow and Snuggie are talked about more, because more people are seeing them than at three o’clock in the morning,’ Clark said. Though the extended airtime infomercials are now receiving is a large part of their recent success, there is also something appealing in infomercial products themselves that attracts people to these sometimes absurd products. Boston University psychology professor Catherine Caldwell-Harris said the uniqueness and absurdity of some of these products is actually what causes many people to buy them.’ ‘People who do not want or cannot afford to buy expensive products will seek unique products to show off their individualism,’ Caldwell-Harris said. ‘The product they are buying reinforces their personality or communicates to others about who they think they are.’ As the one of the most popular infomercial products, the Snuggie gets laughs for its absurdity while also getting high sales numbers, marking the beginning of a new phase in marketing a product, COM advertising professor John Verret said. According to CNBC, four million Snuggies had been sold as of late January 2009. ‘[Snuggie] is one of the first products that started with YouTube and Facebook and then blew out into the mainstream media,’ Verret said. ‘It was a simple idea with no big money behind it that caught on.’ Though parodies making fun of the not-so-innovative blanket with sleeves on YouTube and Facebook may be funny to laugh at, many advertising professors think the additional attention, positive or not, actually attracts customers and helps sales. ‘Don’t underestimate the power of YouTube,’ Clark said. ‘It gives more exposure to commercials if they’re posted, and there’s a positive, relevant message . . . This means it’s getting that many more views, that much more repetition. It gets publicity.’ Whether it’s the economy, an effort to be unique or just a plain interest in the product, fans of the Snuggie are widespread and high in number. College of Arts and Sciences freshman Greta Magerowski first caught on to the Snuggie craze when she was home during winter break. ‘I like Snuggies mostly because they provide endless amusement . . . They can be used for many absurd things,’ Magerowski said. ‘I suppose normal blankets do as well, since they can be used for blanket forts or ghost costumes, but the novelty of Snuggies definitely encourages imagination.’ Although Magerowski said she enjoys the concept of Snuggie, she has decided to make four of her own instead of buying them because they ‘were much cheaper and allowed me to use better fleece prints,’ she said. While some people prefer to create their own personalized versions of the Snuggie, others are using the original product for its purposes. One of the latest Snuggie trends ‘-‘- and fashion statements ‘-‘- is a Snuggie pub crawl. Groups of friends, or even complete strangers, are turning up in bars across the country wrapped up in their Snuggies. Boston resident Sarah Todio is organizing a Snuggie pub crawl for her friends. Although Todio admits she only recently caught on to the Snuggie craze, she and her friends decided it would be fun to host a Snuggie pub crawl of their own, after hearing of one in Chicago. She and a group of 10 to 20 friends will roam Faneuil Hall in their Snuggies on April 11. Despite its popularity, there are still people who are not as amused by the idea of a blanket with sleeves. CAS junior Josh Seideman said most of what he knows of Snuggies he has heard from girls. He said he would never buy a Snuggie because ‘it seems sort of girly.’ ‘Although, I haven’t seen the infomercial,’ Seideman said. ‘If I did see it, it might change my mind.’