A PR guy asked us to say something about Scott’s Clog Clinic/Halftime Flush campaign but we had some trouble taking the e-mail seriously. And upon visiting the site we were disappointed to find it wasn’t as funny as the e-mail. So we’re going to not talk about it at all and post our favourite parts of the e-mail instead. Enjoy.
“Beginning in January 2006, Kimberly-Clark launched a program to educate consumers about the important link between the quick dissolvability of tissue and the prevention of unpleasant, untimely toilet clogs.
[…]“[T]he SCOTT® Clog Clinic enlisted pro football legend Mike Ditka (“Da Coach”) to reach consumers who were most at risk for a messy clog. To create a sense of urgency around this problem, the brand created hype around the legend of “The Halftime Flush,” which holds that 90 million people flush their toilets simultaneously during halftime of the Big Game, producing enough water to flow over Niagara Falls for seven minutes. The online headquarters of this “public service campaign” […] offered common-sense solutions to help avoid toilet blockages and the emotional and financial strains they trigger.
“By having fun with something inherently uncomfortable, and by bringing a universally understood bathroom problem to the attention of media and consumers through a bizarre video, SCOTT® Bath Tissue has successfully positioned itself […] as the best solution to help fight a real problem. In addition, SCOTT® reinforced its role as a purveyor of solutions to life’s everyday challenges: SCOTT® 1000ct and SCOTT® Extra Soft Bath Tissue.”
We’re inclined to call this whole thing “mildly douchey” but in the case of toilet tissue it somehow seems too apt. – Contributed by Angela Natividad
