Earbags distributed at hockey game
Aggie blue Earbags, a substitute for ear muffs and other winter headwear, and the project of some USU students, were given out at the hockey game Thursday night.
Tom Natvig of Sweden had a light-bulb-idea moment while attending the Olympics. His ears were freezing and he didn’t want to wear a headband or a hat. Not long after, he invented Earbags.
With the help of 35 Utah State University public relations students, Earbags is starting its first big national campaign here in Utah during the Olympics.
USU hockey fans got an up-close look at the new product Thursday night, and 400 pairs were given out to students who submitted a slogan idea for the up and coming product. Here are the top 10 submissions:
10. “You think these look funny, picture yourself with no ears.”
9. “I wish I had these yesterday.”
8. “Ear-muff for the real buff.”
7. “GOT Earbags?”
6. “So radical you’ll want two of them.”
5. “There’s only one other Swedish way to stay warm.”
4. “Earbags – Where else you gonna put them?”
3. “Da#* my ears are hot.”
2. “Sometimes life sucks, sometimes it’s just cold. Either way get some
Earbags.”
1. “Do it strapless.”
Earbags is also an official sponsor of the first ever Kenyan cross-country ski team. Despite people’s reaction to this, Valerie Ciptak, vice president of sales, thinks Earbags and the Kenyan skiers make a great team.
“People laugh at them, and people laugh at us too,” Ciptak said. “We’re both brand new.”
Despite some initial skepticism from the hockey fans early on, many of them were wearing their Earbags with pride by the end of the night.
“Once everyone starts wearing them, they’ll think they are cool,” senior horticulture major Kade Turner said. “They will be great for me because I work a lot outside with plants and this way I can have my hands free and my ears will stay warm.”
Turner and other students with active lifestyles were a little doubtful about the Earbags staying on, but Ciptak said this isn’t a problem.
“Do you want to be in an Alpine ski race going 80 miles per hour down a hill in these? No,” Ciptak said. “But I jog and cross-country ski and they stay.”
Earbags hopes their product will catch on.
“They keep your ears warm and they work great,” Ciptak said. “Someday I think these will be as common as a hat and gloves.”