Procter and Gamble

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Procter and Gamble and the Devil?

By Betsy Narvaez

Since the early 1980s, a rumor that Procter & Gamble is somehow affiliated with the Devil has been circulating in the corporate world and among consumers. The rumor alleges that the CEO of Procter & Gamble, along with other P&G officials, went on a talk show and proclaimed that the company was affiliated with the Church of Satan. Procter & Gamble, the manufacturer of such well known products as Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent, Ivory Soap, and Pampers diapers is outraged at this veritable stain on their reputation as a corporation and seem very eager to prove their innocence.

While the rumor is aimed at the corporation in general, it is P&G’s trademark symbol that has received the most vicious attack. The man-in-the-moon-with-stars symbol has been accused of bearing a Satanic connotation. Some people even believe that on January 1st, 2000, P&G will add a ram’s horn or a 666 to the symbol, which the corporation emphatically denies. The symbol originates from the 1800s when the makers of the crates in which P&G products were shipped carved their own symbols on their handiwork. Clients came to rely on the symbols as guarantees that the merchandise they were receiving was genuine P&G and not a cheap bootleg imitation. In 1851 the company decided to tell the crate makers to use one uniform marking. The thirteen stars represented the original thirteen colonies, the man in the moon was simply a popular decorative symbol in the 1800s.

Procter and Gamble denies all the allegations put forth against it, and holds up it’s good reputation as a charitable corporation as evidence that it could not possibly be associated with the Devil. P&G contributed $66 million last year to educational causes, health, social service, cultural, civic, and environmental organizations. P&G is also regularly a big contributor in disaster relief efforts. The company is the largest contributor to Second Harvest (a national food bank), is a major supporter of the Special Olympics International Program, and supports school guidance programs throughout the world via its partnership with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.

As if to add more credibility to their good name, Procter & Gamble has asked the talk shows which supposedly hosted the show in which Satanism was linked to the company, to make statements pointing out the falseness of the accusations. Among the talk shows which have written letters regarding the rumor are Sally Jessie Raphael, Jenny Jones, and Donahue. In addition to these testimonies, Proctor and Gamble has also received support from a variety of Religious leaders including Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Jimmy Draper, and Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Catholic Archbishop of Cincinnati.

Procter & Gamble is not sure of who started the rumor or how it first was fabricated, but suspects that it was for "competitive reasons." Durk I. Jager, CEO of the company, says "It hurts our Company and the fine people who work here." Basically, the company hopes that customers won’t take what they call a "ridiculous hoax" to heart and turn their backs on Procter & Gamble.