Does Procter & Gamble have Satanic ties?
This rumor is entirely false and has been harmful to the witness of the gospel as well as unfair to Procter & Gamble. A moon-star symbol was used by the company on many of its products from 1882 to 1985. In this picture, the stars stand for the thirteen original American colonies, and the drawing is a company logo and nothing more.
During the 1960s, a story began circulating that the corporation was controlled by Satan worshipers. The arrangement of stars in the symbol was said to secretly spell out the Revelation 13:18 "number of the beast": 666. Without examining the facts, many people signed petitions against Procter & Gamble and boycotted their products.
Although the story is untrue (Procter & Gamble is owned by stockholders, not some sinister cult of moon worshipers!), the company dropped the symbol from its product in 1985, so exasperating were the false accusations and bad publicity that the logo had caused. The story continues to be circulated, mainly by misguided Christians. It is a sin to “give false testimony” Exodus 20:16), and this rumor should not be encouraged by the faithful.
According to an August 28, 1995 Procter and Gamble press release,
"the false stories typically claim that P&G's president discussed satanism on Donahue, a nationally televised talk show, and that the company's ‘moon and stars’ trademark is a satanic symbol. The president of P&G has never discussed satanism on any nationally televised talk show, nor has any other P&G executive. The moon & stars trademark dates back to the mid-1800s, when the man in the moon was simply a popular design. The 13 stars in the design honor the original 13 colonies."
Procter & Gamble has received well over 200,000 calls and letters regarding this false rumor just within the past 18 years. However, some well-known religious leaders and groups from the Christian spectrum have tried to put a stop to these rumor in recent years. These include: The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; Jerry Falwell; The Southern Baptist Convention; Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati; and the Church of the Nazarene.
Editor's Note: Recently the rumor has expanded, now claiming that the president of Procter & Gamble appeared on the Sally Jesse Raphael Show on March 1, 1999, July 19, 1999, or some other date. (We've seen a large variety of dates claimed.) This report is not true. There has never been such an appearance.
Here's what Sally says: "We've been getting hundreds of letters asking about this, so evidently someone has a personal vendetta against Procter and Gamble… or one of its competitors has decided to use some dirty tactics. THIS IS A HOAX… it never happened."
We don't know who started this hoax, or who is perpetuating it. We have heard evidence that link it with people associated with a particular competitor. These reports have some credibility, but, to our knowledge, are not yet proven in a court of law. There are any number of people who might wish to see this hoax flourish. Regardless of the source, the president of Procter & Gamble would have to be a moron to go on national television and say he gave away company profits to Satan. Not only would thousands of stockholders object, it would be a public relations disaster.
Christians, please do not be gullible. Check out the facts of such weird claims before taking action.
Adapted from The Bible Has the Answer, by Henry Morris and Martin Clark, published by Master Books, 1987
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