What Will Be the Next Snuggie?

I have written previously on this site regarding "The Snuggie - How a Blanket with Sleeves Changed My Life". Being an early fan of the Snuggie and jumping on its fleecy bandwagon before its wheels started squeaking too loudly has proved advantageous. But now I realize that I can not answer to "Mr. Snuggie Sightings" forever.

The question I am most often asked by friends, relatives, and the media is this: "What will be the next Snuggie?" My answer to that question is that there will not be a "next Snuggie". The Snuggie has nowhere reached its zenith. The Snuggie is not going to go down as another Pet Rock or Chia Pet. It will likely become synonymous with a blanket. A decade from now, we very well may refer to "blankets" as "Snuggies", much like we interchange "Kleenex" with "tissue".

I have had Viral Marketing ideas for many products to be my follow-up to the Snuggie; but there is one in particular that is currently a faint blip on the collective radar. In fact, I have verified that there are currently no Hubs on this product.

The question that I am asking is not, "What will be the next Snuggie?" My question is, "What will be the next Lego?" I predict that the next big thing to erupt from the "As Seen on TV" world will be Bendaroos.

Did I lose you? Good. I'm counting on the fact that a majority of readers here have never heard of this product. Bendaroos are "Magical Wax Over Super Strong String", to quote the Bendaroos Commercial.

I have watched my own sons get creative with Bendaroos, and something special has clicked for them. As they started creating characters, objects and settings with Bendaroos, my oldest son had an idea for a Bendaroo website. That idea is now live and online at BendarooKids.com.

The website contains art and movies, bringing these wax colored creations to life. The tagline for BendarooKids.com is "By Kids. For Kids." While I have set up the WordPress blog and hooked in the theme, the actual entries, art work, photography, graphic design, video and voiceovers are their own. Additionally, any Email and Twitter communications (@Bendaroo) will be handled by me.

Months before I discovered the Snuggie, my boys created Lego movies and posted them online for family and friends. They are now doing this very thing with Bendaroos. We are also discovering that everything in a scene can be made out of Bendaroos, from the ground, to buildings, to the sky.

Here is THE deal with Bendaroos - There are infinite possibilities encompassed in using them. While Legos are awesome, well-established, and have a rabid fan base, there are some things you cannot do with them. Once Bendaroos collide with the collective imaginations of children, you will see what I mean when I say it will be more than child's play.

At the time of this writing, April 14, 2009, there are 51,400 pages indexed in Google which contain the term "Bendaroos". To put this number in perspective, there are currently 3,090,000 webpages in Google's index containing the term "Snuggie". If I am right on this prognostication, there is still room on the Bendaroo Bandwagon before it moves away from the station.

Here are final points to consider:

• Bendaroos are a cheap toy for kids, providing them with hours of entertainment.
• Bendaroos engage a child's imagination and nurtures creativity.
• Bendaroos are tactile and are suitable for kids 3 and up.
• Bendaroos entertain without requiring a television or headphones.
• Bendaroos cannot be scratched and destroyed easily like DVDs and Video Game discs.
• Bendaroos don't impale your bare feet like Legos do when you step on them (I speak from experience).
• Bendaroos make good travel companions and do not require batteries.
• Bendaroos do not make noise.
• Bendaroos can be used to personalize gifts for Grandparents.
• Bendaroos photograph well.
• Bendaroos can be used to create objects and characters and you can do claymation with them ('Bendaroo-mation anyone?)

What do you think? Have you heard of Bendaroos before this Hub? And now that you've been introduced, what's your view?