Why do we love Squishmallows so much??

I have seen no marketing or advertising for Squishmallows. I know of no cartoons or comics or movies or tv shows starring them. I stumbled upon Squishmallows at a Target. And again at Walmart.

I cannot help but wonder:

How did they get so popular?

And Why did I immediately fall in love with them??

(Just for context, I am a straight adult American male. I have no children. I don’t have any toy collections or anything. So my reaction to Squishmallows surprised me!)