If you’ve been up late channel surfing—maybe because you’re having trouble sleeping—chances are you’ve come across the infomercial for My Pillow. The ad for My Pillow is running “constantly somewhere in the U.S.” every day across multiple networks, and 10 times per day on the Fox network alone, according to My Pillow inventor and manufacturer Mike Lindell.
Find out whether it's the 'most comfortable pillow you’ll ever own'
The company makes some bold claims for what it calls the “most comfortable pillow you’ll ever own,” including an “exact custom fit.” Explains Lindell, “You can adjust the My Pillow to make it fit you. The foam pieces interlock and hold that position without going flat, so you get support where you need it.” That results in “deeper, longer REM sleep,” according to the pillow’s packaging. (Check our comparison of sleeping pills for insomnia.)
Update: Nov. 3, 2016—Read about the My Pillow settlement in a consumer lawsuit over health claims. More on Sleep
Consumer Reports bought three My Pillows to test. Although we weren’t able to test that REM sleep claim, we did examine them inside and out. My Pillow describes itself as having “3-piece interlocking fill,” but it actually has thousands of torn polyurethane foam pieces in three sizes. We were able to shift the foam pieces around to different positions, and they did seem to stay put under pressure. The case is 100 percent cotton, and it didn’t have any noticeable off smells like some new pillows can.
How does it feel? Our tester described My Pillow as “kind of lumpy, but comfortable.” We also polled staffers who bought My Pillow on their own. Most said they bought it to help alleviate a sleep problem such as insomnia, neck pain, or snoring. Half of the 18 staffers said it helped a lot, 17 percent said it helped a little, and 33 percent said it didn’t help at all. Only one-third of the group said they would buy My Pillow again. (Use these exercises to help stop snoring.)
The 60-day money-back guarantee means that you can return My Pillow; you’ll have to pay for shipping and handling on both the original purchase and the return. Exchanges are free, however, including shipping.
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My Pillow, Inc. is a pillow manufacturing company based in Chaska, Minnesota, United States.[1] The company was founded in 2004 by Michael J. Lindell, who invented and patented MyPillow, an open-cell, poly-foam pillow design. My Pillow has sold over 41 million pillows, due mostly to My Pillow’s TV infomercials.[2][3] The company started with five employees in 2004 and had 1,500 employees as of 2017.[4]
History[edit]Origin[edit]
My Pillow was founded by Minnesota native Michael J. Lindell.[5][6] For years he researched pillows and sleep disorders and experimented with fillers and fabrics before creating and patenting MyPillow, an open-cell, poly-foam pillow design.[7] To help fund the development of the pillow, Lindell sold four bars he owned in Carver County, Minnesota, and mortgaged his house.[1][4] At first, Lindell hand-sewed the pillows himself and handled all the sales and distribution with help from his family.[4]
The first MyPillow was sold in 2005 at a kiosk in Eden Prairie Center, a mall in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.[4] For the next six years, the company struggled, selling at mall kiosks, state fairs, and trade shows.[8]
Promotion[edit]
Nas illmatic download mediafire. The company's success took off after launching an infomercial in October 2011.[9] The thirty-minute show was shot in one day in front of a live studio audience and cost $500,000 to produce and launch.[10] As of September 2013, the infomercial was still running an average of 200 times per day on local and national networks. Since it first aired, My Pillow has sold more than 30 million pillows and grown from 50 employees to over 1,500.[3][10][11]
In July 2015, Lindell and My Pillow sponsored an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the world's largest pillow fight at a St. Paul Saints baseball game. The fight featured 6,261 participants, beating a previous record of 4,201.[12]
In May 2018, Lindell and My Pillow again broke the Guinness World Record for the world's largest pillow fight, this time at the evangelistic PULSE Movement event held at the U.S. Bank Stadium, after Lindell led over 45,000 people in prayer. [13][14][15]
In late March 2018, student activists from the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, including David Hogg, called for a boycott of advertisers on the television show The Ingraham Angle on Fox News Channel, after host Laura Ingraham made disparaging comments about David Hogg.[16] Dozens of advertisers subsequently vowed to no longer pay for advertising on The Ingraham Angle, but My Pillow continued to advertise on the show and increased their advertising buy on The Ingraham Angle by 625% during the first week in April 2018.
In addition to its pillow line, My Pillow now offers a variety of sleep products such as mattresses, mattress covers, sheets, and animal beds.[17]
Operations[edit]
My Pillow’s headquarters, call center and customer service center are located in Chaska, Minnesota.[1] The company’s 70,000 square foot manufacturing plant in Shakopee produces approximately 25,000 pillows per day.[11][18] All products are marketed as 'proudly American made'.[19]
Retail[edit]
My Pillow opened its first retail store in Burnsville, Minnesota, in 2012 and, as of 2017, had grown to 17 locations in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska.[20] My Pillow products are also offered on QVC, at major retailers, trade shows, and from the My Pillow website.[9][21]
Design and technology[edit]
My Pillow products are a patented design, involving a mix of different-sized pieces of open-cell poly-foam. Lindell claims to have tested 94 different foams before deciding on the right one.[4] The pieces are chopped to specification by a machine Lindell developed based on a piece of farm equipment. The mix also contains a resin that enables the foam to retain much of its shape when molded to the user's preference. The pillows are non-allergenic, dust mite-resistant, washable, and dryable.[4]
Awards and recognition[edit]
In 2013, QVC awarded My Pillow its Q-Star Award for Product Concept of the Year.[22]
Charitable work[edit]
A portion of MyPillow proceeds go toward the Lindell Foundation, a charity that assists addicts, veterans, cancer patients, and other people in need.[18][23] In March 2015, My Pillow donated pillows to the Sandra J. Schulze American Cancer Society Hope Lodge facilities, which houses patients and their caregivers when traveling for treatment.[24][25]
Lawsuits and settlement[edit]
In April 2016, a class action lawsuit was proposed for the pillows being falsely advertised, among the complaints being that Lindell is marketed as a 'Sleep Expert,' despite having no board certification or special training in sleep medicine.[26] The Better Business Bureau has received 220 complaints regarding the company from 2013-2016.[27]
In November 2017, the lawsuit, which challenged the appropriateness of the marketing, packaging, and sale of MyPillow products, including health claims about the product, buy one get one promotions, and the use of third party endorsements and logos, was settled.[28]
On November 1, 2016, My Pillow agreed to pay $1 million ($995,000 in civil penalties and $100,000 to California charities benefiting the homeless and victims of domestic violence) to settle a false advertising lawsuit brought in Alameda County Superior Court by Alameda County and eight other California counties.[29] The lawsuit challenged the company's marketing claims, which asserted without proof that its pillows could treat symptoms of fibromyalgia, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, cerebral palsy, acid reflux, and other conditions.[29] As part of the settlement, the company was banned 'from making claims in California that its pillows can cure or treat diseases and their symptoms without a human trial to back up the statements.'[29]
Ratings and reviews[edit]
In January 2017, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) announced it had revoked the accreditation for MyPillow and had lowered their rating from an A+ to an F[30] based upon numerous consumer complaints. The main issue addressed by the BBB was the constant use of their buy one, get one free offer. The BBB's Code of Advertising requires that offers or discounts must be made for a limited time, or the deal becomes the normal price of the product.[31]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=My_Pillow&oldid=898905084'
Pillow is a management solution for multifamily short-term rentals.[1] Residents can host short-term rentals while multifamily owners and property managers have control over the process. Multifamily operators can also list vacant units for short-term rentals. The company, which focuses on urban centers, is currently operating in 35 cities including San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and Los Angeles.[2][3] It is offered in apartment complexes like Livcor, BH Management, Blanton Turner and First Communities.
On October 25, 2018, the Expedia Group announced that it had acquired Pillow.[4][5][6]
History[edit]
In 2013, Sean Conway, Justin Miller, Todd Conway and Dan Palumbo launched Airenvy, Inc.[7] The founders renamed the company Pillow Homes, Inc. in 2014. The idea for the service was thought of by Sean Conway, Justin Miller after they sold their first company Notehall to Chegg, and began traveling the world.[8]
Conway listed his San Francisco property on Airbnb while he was traveling, and realized there was a need for an easier way to manage his property while away. During the company's first months, the founders started listing their San Francisco apartments on Airbnb and staying with each other to test out their new short-term rental management ideas. Within the first year, the company received their first round of funding at $2.4 million and moved to an office location in San Francisco.[9]
Pillow raised $16.15 million in investment capital in three rounds of funding in 2014-2017.[10][11] On November 5, Pillow announced its partnership with Airbnb along with San Francisco's largest building owner, Veritas Investments.
The company launched its mobile applications, Pillow for iOS and Android, for property residents and cleaning professionals in all their serviceable locations.
Business Model[edit]
Pillow operates as a multifamily short-term rental management solution. Owners and property managers have control over the short-term rental process. They are able to monitor who is in the building, set building restrictions, while receiving a percent of the profits.[12] The company helps residents stay in compliance with local regulations cities are placing on short-term rentals by monitoring the rules. Landlords who enroll their buildings in the Pillow program can rent out vacant units through the platform. Pillow includes guest access to buildings and a verified network of cleaners for turnover services.[13][14]
Financing[edit]
Pillow publicly announced their seed funding round in January 2015 with Homebrew Ventures as their lead investor, to bring their total funding to $2.65 million.[15][16]
Buckwheat Pillows
In June 2017, Pillow raised $13.5 million in new funding led by Mayfield, with participation from Sterling.VC, Peak Capital Partners, Expansion VC, Chris Anderson, Gary Vaynerchuk, Dennis Phelps and Veritas Investments.[17] During the same time, Pillow released its newest product, Pillow Residential, a management platform for short-term rentals in multifamily apartment complexes.
References[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pillow_(company)&oldid=898252501'
Company was accused by California consumer groups of misleading advertising
Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow, once said that “people are tired of phony advertising.” But the company found itself being accused of misleading advertising in a civil lawsuit brought earlier this year by several California consumer-protection groups. My Pillow agreed to settle the case this week and pay almost $1 million in civil penalties.
Late-night infomercials and other ads claimed that the company's pillows could cure not only insomnia but also such ailments as sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, and even multiple sclerosis.
Earlier this year, the consumer watchdog Truth in Advertising (TINA.org) warned My Pillow that it would file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission if the unsubstantiated claims continued. My Pillow scrubbed its website of any health claims, but others continued cropping up on its social media sites, TINA.org reports.
TINA.org shared its information with the California consumer groups, and last month the district attorneys of 10 counties filed a lawsuit alleging that My Pillow “knew or reasonably should have known” that the marketing claims were likely to mislead consumers.
The result was a stipulated judgment, meaning the company admitted no wrongdoing, that included $995,000 in civil penalties and a pledge to give $100,000 to homeless and domestic violence shelters in California.
“We decided to pay out rather than pay millions to prove our innocence,” Lindell told the Star Tribune in Minnesota, where the company is based.
In addition, My Pillow must stop promoting itself as the “official pillow” of the National Sleep Foundation because it failed to disclose its financial connection with the foundation to consumers.
“Companies making millions from unsupported health claims that are warned by TINA.org to halt their deceptive marketing practices are going to pay a price if they don’t comply,” said TINA.org Executive Director Bonnie Patton.
The troubles My Pillow has seen this year are enough to keep anyone up nights. In August, New York's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, announced a $1.1 million settlement that resolved a whistleblower case against My Pillow that alleged that My Pillow knowingly failed to collect and remit sales tax on purchases made by New Yorkers over the phone or internet.
Based on the investigation, the attorney general contended that My Pillow failed to collect and remit $537,000 in New York sales taxes from 2011 to 2015. Again, My Pillow denied any wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, Consumer Reports bought three My Pillows to test and examined them inside and out. Although we did not issue any ratings, one tester described the pillow as “kind of lumpy, but comfortable.”
We also polled staffers who bought My Pillow on their own in hopes of getting a better night’s sleep. Half said the pillow helped them sleep, and one-third said it didn’t help at all.
To find the right pillow for you, read 'The Best Pillow for a Good Night's Sleep.'
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Consumer Reports is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to helping consumers. We make it easy to buy the right product from a variety of retailers. Clicking a retailer link will take you to that retailer’s website to shop. When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission – 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our mission. Learn more. Our service is unbiased: retailers can’t influence placement. All prices are subject to change.
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