Good news, Packers fans: You can now sleep on the world's first cheesehead bed.
The most recent addition to Verlo Mattress Factory's inventory has a much different look than the company's usual product line. That's because it resembles a giant block of cheese -- the kind of cheese you might want to take a nap on, apparently.
"The bed really came about from one of those aha moments," Verlo's creative strategist Julie Tramonte said. "There was some talk about cheeseheads and different things like that. And then, in jest, one of us on the marketing team said, ‘Wouldn't it be cool if we had a cheesehead bed?' It's perfect."
That suggestion came only two months ago, but the cheesehead bed is already available in the company's stores and officially launched this week with the help of legendary Packers safety LeRoy Butler.
Because the bed so recently hit stores, official sales haven't been recorded yet. But Verlo believes the beds will have mass appeal.
"I think there's going to be a broad range of buyers," Tramonte said. "The bed itself, even though it's a novelty bed, it's actually a bed that's high enough quality that it's planned for adult or kids use. This is a very good bed.
"We expect adults to also buy it. I guess it sort of depends on how many wives agree to allow their husbands to buy a cheesehead bed."
If sheets are added over the top of the mattress, there's really no indication that it's any different than a traditional bed. Of course, that sort of defeats the point, doesn't it?
"When you are a die-hard Packers fan, you don't need to always have it displayed," Tramonte said. "It runs so deep that it can be covered with sheets. You know that you're sleeping on a cheesehead bed."
With the Packers on a bye right now, the price for a queen-sized mattress is set at $1,099 for at least two weeks. But if the team comes back and extends its four-game winning streak, there will be a "celebratory price" $200 discount for the 24 hours following each victory.
And, in a couple cases, Butler, who won Super Bowl XXXI with Green Bay and was a four-time All-Pro, will deliver the bed to fans' houses himself.
This isn't just an in-season product, either.
"We expect to always have it in our inventory because there's always a new cheesehead born," Tramonte said. "At this point it's not a short-term, seasonal product. We expect to carry it on a regular basis."
Oh, yeah, there are matching pillows, too. Unlike the mattress, they are actually made of the cheesehead material that some fans wear on their heads to games.
The countdown is now on to see how long it takes for Chicagoans to sleep on a mattress made to resemble a bear. The over-under is set at never.
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