Viscom CM 235

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The company received unwanted media publicity in the 1980s when an unfounded rumor spread that their corporate logo was a satanic symbol. The accusation is apparently based on a particular passage in the Bible, specifically Revelation 12:1, which states: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." Since P&G's logo consists of a man's face on a moon surrounded by 13 stars, some have claimed that the logo is a parody of the heavenly symbol alluded to in the aforementioned Biblical verse, and hence the logo is satanic. But the charge has been denied by company officials, and no evidence linking the company to the Church of Satan or any other occult organization has ever been presented.

Chain letter petition regarding P&G boycott, introduced as evidence in court case.

P&G, AMWAY REPRIMANDED IN SATAN WORSHIP LAWSUIT RULING

CINCINNATI (AdAge.com) -- A federal court yesterday pleaded for Procter & Gamble Co. and Amway Corp. to stop suing each other as it rejected Amway's appeal, the latest development in seven years of litigation between the two over unfounded rumors linking P&G to Satan worship.

The subject of Satanism has dogged the FMCG giant, which owns brand such as Febreze and Herbal Essence, for some time. Allegations first came about because of an old logo that featured a man in the moon, which is seen as being linked to Satanism. This was followed by another set of rumours that an unnamed president of the company had promoted Satanic worship on a talkshow. In 1996, a distributor of Amway products spread the rumours on the corporate voicemail system, prompting P&G to sue Amway and kicking off a legal battle that has so far lasted for seven years. The FMCG and cosmetics giant sued Amway for spreading the rumour and, during the course of the lawsuit, the company’s solicitors hired an anti-Amway activist called Sidney Schwartz. Schwartz posted details of P&G’s complaint on his website and another later on, and Amway retaliated by taking legal action against both Schwartz and P&G. Although it settled with Schwartz, its battle with P&G continued. Yesterday, the Federal Court called for an end to the battle and to stop wasting the court’s money. According to the court ruling: “Although no decision from this court — or any other, we predict — will end the hatred these two corporate giants harbour for each other, we hope that they will consider the impact of their continuing legal battle on the scarce resources of the courts, and decide to concentrate their creative talents on the more traditional methods of gaining competitive advantage and declare a ceasefire in the judicial arena.”