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An ordinary Pillow Pet is made with [[chenille fabric]].<ref name="about">{{cite web | url=http://mypillowpets.com/about/ | title=About Us | publisher=My Pillow Pets | accessdate=February 27, 2011}}</ref> Underneath it is a velcro strap. Given that it starts in pillow position, its strap fastens to the other side in order to transform it into a stuffed toy. If the strap is unfastened again, the Pillow Pet can again be used as a pillow.<ref name="about"/>
An ordinary Pillow Pet is made with [[chenille fabric]].<ref name="about">{{cite web | url=http://mypillowpets.com/about/ | title=About Us | publisher=My Pillow Pets | accessdate=February 27, 2011}}</ref> Underneath it is a velcro strap. Given that it starts in pillow position, its strap fastens to the other side in order to transform it into a stuffed toy. If the strap is unfastened again, the Pillow Pet can again be used as a pillow.<ref name="about"/>


More than one hundred varieties of Pillow Pets have been sold by CJ Products. There is a wide variety of animals from cats to dogs to unicorns. They even have glow in the dark pillow pets and pillow pets with nightlights on them. Licensed Pillow Pets exist for [[Major League Baseball|MLB]], [[National Football League|NFL]], [[National Hockey League|NHL]] and [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] sports teams.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://mypillowpets.com/shop/category/sports/ | title=Shop – Sports Teams | publisher=My Pillow Pets | accessdate=June 21, 2011}}</ref> There are also themed Pillow Pets based on [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] characters.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://mypillowpets.com/shop/category/disney/ | title=Shop – Disney | publisher=My Pillow Pets | accessdate=October 24, 2011}}</ref> Stuffed toys based on [[Thomas the Tank Engine]], [[Dora the Explorer]], and [[SpongeBob SquarePants]] are being produced as well.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://mypillowpets.com/shop/category/specialty | title=Shop – Specialty | publisher=My Pillow Pets | accessdate=June 21, 2011}}</ref> CJ Products has also licensed Pillow Pets for three [[Premier League|English Premier League]] football clubs ([[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], and [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]) for release in September.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toynews-online.biz/news/36861/Arsenal-Chelsea-and-Spurs-Pillow-Pets-unveiled |title=Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs Pillow Pets unveiled |publisher=Intent Media |work=ToyNews |date=August 6, 2012 |accessdate=August 16, 2012 |author=Sacco, Dominic}}</ref> Besides stuffed animals, other products bear the Pillow Pets name, such as blankets, slippers, hats, and print pajamas. Three Pillow Pets books and two board games are also available. In late October 2011, a Pillow Pets video game was released for [[Nintendo DS]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://wegotthiscovered.com/news/pillow-pets-nintendo-ds/ | title=Pillow Pets Is Now Available For Nintendo DS | publisher=wegotthiscovered.com | date=October 25, 2011 | accessdate=November 18, 2011 | author=Goodmurphy, Chad}}</ref>
More than one hundred varieties of Pillow Pets have been sold by CJ Products. Licensed Pillow Pets exist for [[Major League Baseball|MLB]], [[National Football League|NFL]], [[National Hockey League|NHL]] and [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] sports teams.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://mypillowpets.com/shop/category/sports/ | title=Shop – Sports Teams | publisher=My Pillow Pets | accessdate=June 21, 2011}}</ref> There are also themed Pillow Pets based on [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] characters.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://mypillowpets.com/shop/category/disney/ | title=Shop – Disney | publisher=My Pillow Pets | accessdate=October 24, 2011}}</ref> Stuffed toys based on [[Thomas the Tank Engine]], [[Dora the Explorer]], and [[SpongeBob SquarePants]] are being produced as well.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://mypillowpets.com/shop/category/specialty | title=Shop – Specialty | publisher=My Pillow Pets | accessdate=June 21, 2011}}</ref> CJ Products has also licensed Pillow Pets for three [[Premier League|English Premier League]] football clubs ([[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], and [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]) for release in September.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toynews-online.biz/news/36861/Arsenal-Chelsea-and-Spurs-Pillow-Pets-unveiled |title=Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs Pillow Pets unveiled |publisher=Intent Media |work=ToyNews |date=August 6, 2012 |accessdate=August 16, 2012 |author=Sacco, Dominic}}</ref> Besides stuffed animals, other products bear the Pillow Pets name, such as blankets, slippers, hats, and print pajamas. Three Pillow Pets books and two board games are also available. In late October 2011, a Pillow Pets video game was released for [[Nintendo DS]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://wegotthiscovered.com/news/pillow-pets-nintendo-ds/ | title=Pillow Pets Is Now Available For Nintendo DS | publisher=wegotthiscovered.com | date=October 25, 2011 | accessdate=November 18, 2011 | author=Goodmurphy, Chad}}</ref>


==Charity work==
==Charity work==

Revision as of 08:50, 26 March 2014

Pillow Pets
Other namesMy Pillow Pets
Typestuffed toy
Inventor(s)Jennifer Telfer
CompanyCJ Products
CountryUnited States
Availability2003–present
Materialschenille
SloganIt's a Pillow. It's a Pet... It's a Pillow Pet.
Official website

Pillow Pets are a brand of stuffed toys designed for children, which have Velcro straps that allow them to be changed from a decorated pillow into a stuffed animal. The toys are made from chenille. Invented by Jennifer Telfer in 2003, Pillow Pets first gained success when Telfer personally sold the toys near the Christmas season of that year. Six years later, they would become more successful through television advertising. The company's famous quote, "It's a pillow, it's a pet, it's a Pillow Pet!" was on every ad and became very popular. Pillow Pets have been used for charitable fund raising.

History

In 2003, Jennifer Telfer was living in San Diego[1] with her husband, Clint, and two sons. In an interview with CNBC, Telfer states that she came up with the idea of functional stuffed toys when her oldest son, then seven, flattened out one of his stuffed animals from sleeping with it often.[2] She decided on a combination of a pillow and a stuffed animal as the concept for Pillow Pets. Telfer and her husband proposed a meeting with a plush manufacturer at a tradeshow in Las Vegas,[3] and decided to wholesale the toys themselves through their company, CJ Products (CJ is a combination of their first initials).[4] Following the meeting, the Telfers were prepared to sell the first toys.[3]

The first Pillow Pet was "Snuggly Puppy."[3] In the Christmas season, Jennifer Telfer first sold Pillow Pets at mall kiosks, but failed to sell them all as customers were unable to recognize their function as a pillow: "Every single parent would walk up, and their kids would love them. [The parents would] say, 'No, it's just another stuffed animal.' Because they didn't know that it opened up to a pillow."[2] A few weeks later, Telfer discovered that the Pillow Pets were most profitable during the period after Christmas when they were almost sold out at home shows. She later ordered a container of 7,000 Pillow Pets, now in six different animal varieties, and sold all of them in three months.[4] By the end of 2010, CJ Products earned $300,000 in gross sales.[3]

In 2009, CJ Products started using television advertising to promote the Pillow Pets. Commercials aired on children's cable channels such as Nickelodeon, and family-oriented networks such as Travel Channel.[3] Partly because of the ads, gross sales of $7,000,000 were recorded at the end of 2009.[3] Telfer recalled: "I didn't realize that we were gonna be at this level, or people would love my idea as much as I loved it."[2]

On February 2011, CJ Products announced that Pillow Pets would be re-branded into Pillow Pets Premium, for specialty retail stores. This line features softer fabrics and "collecter-level" branding. These stores will continue to have exclusivity of the new designs for about 3 to 6 months before being offered to mass retailers.[5]

In 2012, Dream Lites, and in 2013, Glow Pets were introduced.

Product

A "Snuggly Puppy" dog pillow pet

An ordinary Pillow Pet is made with chenille fabric.[6] Underneath it is a velcro strap. Given that it starts in pillow position, its strap fastens to the other side in order to transform it into a stuffed toy. If the strap is unfastened again, the Pillow Pet can again be used as a pillow.[6]

More than one hundred varieties of Pillow Pets have been sold by CJ Products. Licensed Pillow Pets exist for MLB, NFL, NHL and NCAA sports teams.[7] There are also themed Pillow Pets based on Disney characters.[8] Stuffed toys based on Thomas the Tank Engine, Dora the Explorer, and SpongeBob SquarePants are being produced as well.[9] CJ Products has also licensed Pillow Pets for three English Premier League football clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur) for release in September.[10] Besides stuffed animals, other products bear the Pillow Pets name, such as blankets, slippers, hats, and print pajamas. Three Pillow Pets books and two board games are also available. In late October 2011, a Pillow Pets video game was released for Nintendo DS.[11]

Charity work

CJ Products are known for their charity work, as they have donated Pillow Pets to many causes. In addition to CJ Products, the public have also donated Pillow Pets to help others.

Indirect

In December 2010, Michele McFarland, a human resources worker for the Baltimore County Department of Social Services, and her family, all from Catonsville, Maryland, started a Pillow Pet drive to help children at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Their initial goal was to donate 200 toys, but they actually donated 250 Pillow Pets to the hospital in time for Christmas Eve. According to McFarland, residents of New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Georgia, in addition to residents of their state, contributed.[12] A year later, it was announced that McFarland aimed to donate even more Pillow Pets to five hospitals, including Johns Hopkins, by Christmas. She became affiliated with the Casey Cares Foundation and ordered 1,400 Pillow Pets to help the hospitals.[13]

Jacob McConahay (then seven) and his family had been accepting donations of Pillow Pets children in the James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, in Indianapolis, where Jacob was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. An early childhood volunteer, Jan Huntwork, mentioned that Jacob's goal was 1,000 Pillow Pets.[14] CJ Products heard about Jacob's goal, and committed to matching the number of Pillow Pets that he collected.[15] McConahay's wish to help children in the Riley Hospital inspired students at China Grove Middle School, in Rowan County, North Carolina, to donate Pillow Pets to patients at the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital.[16] Jacob died on August 31, 2011. As of November 2011 his family has collected over 140,000 Pillow Pets in his name.[17]

Direct

Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, CJ Products, The Today Show, and the American Red Cross, collaborated to support relief efforts. Pillow Pets announced that they would donate one dollar of every purchase of a Pillow Pet on their website, on March 17 and 18, 2011, to the American Red Cross. They also auctioned five Pillow Pets on the same days, and the money also went to the American Red Cross.[18]

Since 2008, Pillow Pets has collaborated with the Family Reach Foundation to help families of children to fight cancer. In September 2011, the foundation received a donation of 6,200 Pillow Pets and was able to generate thousands of dollars in funds. Carla Tardif, the Foundations' director of development and special programs, stated a consideration of initiatives to create more promotion of Family Reach's cause and raise charitable funds for families worldwide. "We applaud the tremendous amount of work being done by the Family Reach Foundation on behalf of [the] families," Jennifer Telfer said.[19]

Counterfeits

Some toy companies have taken advantage of Pillow Pets' popularity by manufacturing and selling counterfeits. CJ Products have been notified many times of impostor Pillow Pets.[20] Telfer said: "It is priority one for us to protect our brand and deliver the high quality people have come to expect when they see the My Pillow Pets plush folding stuffed animals authentic tag."[21]

In one case, in January 2011, Concord Toys International were accused of impersonating Pillow Pets. Their products were being sold in a warehouse in Queens, New York City and bore the label "Made in China." Private detectives hired by CJ Products tracked the toys to the warehouse, where U.S. marshals seized 17,000 counterfeits. An injunction was signed preventing Concord from manufacturing any forgeries, and CJ Products are seeking punitive damages against the company.[22]

Awards and accolades

Pillow Pets have won several awards for being a child-friendly product. In 2009, Stevanne Auerbach recognized the toy as one of the Best Vacation Toys.[23] Also in 2009, Armin Brott of Mr. Dad awarded the product the Mr. Dad Seal of Approval for Father's Day.[24] Pillow Pets were among toys on Toys R Us's 2010 'Hot Toy' list.[25]

References

  1. ^ "Pillow Pets Inventor". My Pillow Pets. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "How I Made My Millions". March 2, 2011. CNBC. Retrieved August 16, 2011. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rooney, Jennifer (November 15, 2010). "My Pillow Pets". Advertising Age. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Jennifer Telfer Biography" (PDF). My Pillow Pets. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  5. ^ "Pillow Pets Brand Re-names Exclusive Line for Specialty Retailers" (PDF) (Press release). February 10, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  6. ^ a b "About Us". My Pillow Pets. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  7. ^ "Shop – Sports Teams". My Pillow Pets. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  8. ^ "Shop – Disney". My Pillow Pets. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  9. ^ "Shop – Specialty". My Pillow Pets. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  10. ^ Sacco, Dominic (August 6, 2012). "Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs Pillow Pets unveiled". ToyNews. Intent Media. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  11. ^ Goodmurphy, Chad (October 25, 2011). "Pillow Pets Is Now Available For Nintendo DS". wegotthiscovered.com. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  12. ^ Conlin, Brian (December 24, 2010). "Catonsville family leads drive to donate Pillow Pets to children's center". Maryland Family Magazine. Catonsville, Maryland. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  13. ^ Conlin, Brian (November 21, 2011). "Catonsville woman aims to comfort children not just during holidays". Baltimore Sun. Tribune Company. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
  14. ^ Welty, Lauren (February 7, 2011). "Cancer doesn't hold Jake back from collecting Pillow Pets". The Indianopolis Star. Indianopolis, Indiana. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  15. ^ "Help Support Pillow Pets for Jacob". My Pillow Pets Blog. March 9, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  16. ^ "School collects Pillow Pets for Jeff Gordon's Children's Hospital". The Salisbury Post. Post Publishing Company. April 14, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  17. ^ Dolac, Katie (November 17, 2011). "Pillow Pets, Vigil to Honor Late 7-Year-Old". DunedinPatch. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  18. ^ "Support Relief Efforts in Japan with Pillow Pets plush animals, The Today Show & the American Red Cross". My Pillow Pets Blog. March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  19. ^ "Family Reach Receives Major Donation of Pillow Pets to Support its Mission". Family Reach Foundation. September 28, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  20. ^ "Holiday Shoppers: Beware of Pillow Pets Impostors" (PDF) (Press release). December 21, 2009. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  21. ^ "Consumers Help Combat My Pillow Pets Plush Folding Stuffed Animal Fraud". Pets 4 Home. September 7, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  22. ^ Marzulli, John (January 25, 2011). "Fake Thumpy, Squeaky in custody as lawyers for Pillow Pets seek damages for counterfeit items". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  23. ^ Auerbach, Stevanne. "CJ Products – My Pillow Pets". Dr. Toy. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  24. ^ Brott, Armin. "Mr. Dad Seal of Approval Recipients for Father's Day 2009". Mr. Dad. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  25. ^ Anderson, Mae (September 26, 2010). "Cute and Collectible Top Toys R Us 'Hot Toy' List". Ohio.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
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