Once (and Again) Upon A Mattress

Folks could sleep in peace in Southern California last week—some even on lumpy old mattresses—after Sit ‘n Sleep’s number-crunching co-spokesman, Irwin, reappeared in the bedding retailer’s omnipresent radio spots after a seven-month absence.

“People were asking, ‘Where’s Irwin?’ ” says Cary Sacks, creative director of independent Ideology in Marina del Rey, Calif., which handles the $7 million ad account. If urgent Web campaigns are calling for his return and rest-deprived shoppers are grilling superstore employees, says Sacks, “You start thinking maybe he’s being missed.”