Procter & Gamble

PROCTER & GAMBLE (P&G) has been accused since 1980 of associating with the devil. Problems over their man-in-the-moon and stars trademark surfaced in that year when people began calling the company to ask if it was owned by the followers of[Page 636] Reverend Sun Myung Moon. The company responded to this assault by writing to news organizations in the Midwest, the origin of most of the telephone calls.

The emphasis of the rumors changed from Moon's church to Satanism, and December 1981 brought the company 1,152 questions/comments on the subject. Tales spread of Procter & Gamble's owner admitting on television that he had traded his soul to the devil in return for the company's success, and the company president announcing on the Phil Donahue Show that ...