Nauga was the star of a phenomenally successful 1960s advertising campaign created for Uniroyal by the legendary ad man, George Lois (1931- ). Inferior imitators were gobbling market share from Uniroyal's new leather substitute, Naugahyde vinyl. The objective for Uniroyal's ad agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach, was to make the world realize that Naugahyde was more durable than its competitors. George Louis knew that Nauga was just the critter for the job.

Nauga dolls were given out and sold by furniture retailers, including Herman Miller stores. Giant sized Nauga's attended conventions, Uniroyal sales meetings, and even appeared on the Johnny Carson TV show.