Sleeping on it: Spanish company unveils mattresses with built-in safes

Taking a cue from paranoid hoarders, a Spanish mattress company thinks it has the cure for Europeans losing sleep over the economy’s ups and downs. Descanso Santos Sueños (DeSS) has released a line of mattresses with built-in safes, rationalizing that people might feel more secure storing savings in their beds than at the bank.

Called the Caja Mi Colchón, meaning “my mattress safe,” the product features a small keypad and deposit box hidden underneath a flap at the foot of the bed. Its launch coincided with a massive bailout in the EU nation of Cyprus that saw depositors in the country’s largest bank suffer major losses.

A dramatic commercial by DeSS imagines Spain in a similar crisis, with looters and rioters running wild in the streets. But one lucky man opens his Caja Mi Colchón to find his money safe and sound, and is so relieved that a tear reverses up his cheek back into his eyeball. The message, “Your money is very close to you, and very far from the banks,” then splashes across the screen, bolstering the ad’s not-so-subtle sell.

Paco Santos, president of DeSS, claims sales for the $1,140-mattress are exceeding expectations, though he has declined to give specific figures.