Heeeeeeeeeere's Nauga!
So many beloved brand mascots have said, "Goodbye, cruel world," so it's nice to know that one that represents cruelty-free fashion is still alive and
kicking. Especially since rumors of its grizzly death were greatly exaggerated but widely believed at one time.
Uniroyal Engineered Products created the Nauga as the mythical mascot for naugahyde, its vinyl-coated fabric. To promote the mock leather in the late 1960s, the company conjured up the cute critters and an imaginative ad campaign chronicling their pre-fabric lives when they were "native to the island of Sumatra." As a companion piece, Nauga dolls--which were about a foot tall and looked a little like Blue Meanies--were created as premiums and became quite collectible.
However, some gullible consumers became concerned that actual Naugas were hunted and harmed, that their "hydes" were skinned and tanned to satisfy America's unbridled lust for glossy go-go boots and crinkly mod sofas that stuck to the back of its collective thighs on sweltering summer days. An urban legend spread, and Uniroyal had to assure animal lovers who inundated its call centers that the Nauga was about as authentic as the Chicken of the Sea mermaid.
- traderbeck's blog
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Comments
I bought some of the new one's but the original is still rocks!
Don't be fooled by there website like I was. I thought I was getting the mini nauga which is featured on the naughahyde web page but when you open up that box, surprise....It has beady eyes and a nauga bow as well. A little weird.
love,
dD
Gee, I dunno...
Cool that they are still manufacturing naugas, but the ones on the website look awful--baggy at the crotch, too narrow in the hips, understuffed in general and in some pretty hideous color combos. The originals are still worth seeking out anywhere you can find em. Also: http://sparklepony.blogspot.com/2005/03/more-fun-with-alan-keyes.htmlI did not know this!
I know what I'm getting my husband for Father's day! He'll be too thrilled! Or at least give a hearty guffaw. Thanks for this Becky!