Freddie hat for cats
Generated render Report
The story
Mailchimp's most famous giveaway: a hand-crocheted hat for cats (and small dogs), made to look like Freddie, the company's chimp mascot. It's a brown monkey head with round ears, holes for the cat's own ears, a cream Freddie face with button eyes and a grin, and a tiny blue bellhop cap on top. The idea came when one of co-founder Ben Chestnut's relatives brought over a knitted pig hat from a street vendor in Thailand. Ben sketched a monkey version and the same maker produced it. Mailchimp ordered 500 and then more, gave them away to fans, including a 2012 draw for 100 hats, and the cat photos spread everywhere. A decade later, people still post their old one. Tiers: Outstanding.
What stands out
Make swag for the audience's audience. A hat for the customer's cat guarantees the photo gets shared.
For your next brief
Who or what do your users love most, and could you make something for them instead?
- Acrylic yarn
- 2012
- Hand-crocheted yarn hat with appliqué face and ears
- Brown, cream, blue, yellow
- Official merch
Sources & image credits
Render referenceAtomgoods AI studio · product reference: @johnhoward on X