How Igloo Got Its Cool Back

Four years ago, just before stepping into his new job as a CEO, Dave Allen took his family on a vacation. A few days in, one of Allen’s high school-age daughters asked him what company he’d be running. “Igloo,” he told her. Naturally, she took out her phone and looked it up. Allen still remembers what his daughter told him next. “I have more followers on Instagram than they do,” she said. Allen could hardly have gotten a better encapsulation of Igloo's troubles—or the task ahead of him. The history of consumer products is rife with examples of brands that became household names, only to lose their way. The fortunate ones—Lego, Marvel, Chrysler, Apple—managed a comeback. Allen was determined to make Igloo one of them. In 2018, Igloo “was just this housewares brand where price was the lowest common denominator,” Allen told Adweek. “We made red and blue plastic boxes—a really ugly portfolio of products. But we had this amazing equity that nobody had done anything with.” That equity dated back to the years after World War II. Starting in 1947, a company called Texas Tennessee Industries began making insulated metal coolers that treated Texas oil riggers—men who had been drinking out of buckets—to ice water on tap. As the interstates created suburbs and car trips proliferated, TTI—now known as Igloo—shifted to making ice chests that kept beer and sandwiches cold. The old metal coolers were heavy as boulders, so Igloo responded with the first plastic coolers in 1962. “We haven’t even begun production on it yet,” company president J.F. Hutchison had said, “but we are getting thousands of orders for it.” Igloo would lead the cooler category for decades, diversifying into a dizzying array of styles including the Playmate, the S’Cool Mate, the Lunchmate and the MunchMate. The Little Playmate of 1976 became known as “America’s lunch box.” But the proliferation of products, together with the price war brought on by competitors, eventually left Igloo with little to distinguish itself. Allen set out to return Igloo to its roots as a lifestyle brand, first producing a picnic basket cooler in 1980s colors and selling it in Urban Outfitters for $59.99. Igloo then began making coolers themed with licensed brands. The brand is also addressing growing environmental concerns by eliminating Styrofoam in the lining, using post-recycled plastics and even making biodegradable and compostable coolers. One factor that’s helped Igloo regain its visibility in the market is the equity that’s always been in its name. Because millions of Americans already associate Igloo with picnics and family vacations, coolers are “highly emotive,” Allen said. “When you have a brand that's been neglected for a long time and do the right thing with the brand, consumers come back and act like you've never been gone.” And just for the record, Igloo is now verified with 267,000 followers on Instagram. Brewskies with Iron Maiden One inadvertent benefit of an ice chest is that it’s a very good canvas for words and images, famous ones especially. A key piece of Igloo’s resurgence comes from its vigorous licensing team, which has landed every imaginable brand—monster trucks like the Grave Digger, automotive nameplates like Jeep, cartoon characters like Snoopy and every NFL team logo—on its coolers. Arguably the most distinctive of these are the rock bands, and not just the usual suspects like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Igloo has issued no fewer than three models with heavy metal pioneers Iron Maiden. These include the Eddie’s Playmate Cooler, which features the band’s skeletal-mummy mascot and invites fans to “chill with the beast.” Or at least it did—that cooler is sold out. Just chill, OK? Igloo started as a water canteen brand in the Texas oil fields (1), demonstrating its ruggedness in stunts like this one (2), where a four Igloos can support all 2,420 pounds of this Chevrolet 3100 truck. With the postwar suburban boom, the brand diversified to a multitude of outdoor products to keep food and beverages cold (3). After a long decline, Igloo began its comeback with this retro-1980s picnic basket cooler (4) carried by Urban Outfitters. Also brought back into production is the KoolTunes cooler, a 1989 original, which comes with built-in speakers (5).

Perspective

How Igloo Got Its Cool Back

America's best-known ice chest regains its reputation for style, with a modern flair

Robert Klara

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Robert Klara