Garanimals

No self-respecting kid growing up in the seventies didn't wear Garanimals at some point. They were the rage. Born in 1972, Garanimals were the mix-and-match system that allowed parents and kids to easily match their clothes by simply matching the animals. Giraffe for giraffe, horse for horse -- then you knew for sure that the colors and patterns would coordinate.

The animals were on the clothing tags at retail for easy shopping and they were also on the inside clothing tags for easy pairing when getting dressed. Nothing could be easier, and quite honestly there are times as an adult that I wished I had Garanimals when getting dressed at 5:30am or when packing for a business trip.

Garanimals were a part of pop culture back in the day, and the brand name became synonymous for mixing and matching. The powerful brand equity still lingers even though the clothes have long disappeared off our radar. Hillary Clinton at one point was even called "the Garanimals candidate".

They're back, believe it or not. At Wal-Mart of all places. Check them out at Garanimals.com.

Same easy system in a rather large range of clothing for boys and girls. Now I can't speak to the quality or the price points or even the styles for that matter (I'm not a kid anymore and my kids are way way beyond the Garanimals stage, sadly), but I can say that Garanimals are the perfect example of a really simple idea and a great marketing concept. Brought back to life by marketing giant Wal-Mart.

Just FYI, the clothing itself is manufactured by a company called Garan which is part of the Warren Buffet portfolio. Very smart.

What's your experience? Jim