P&G Is Still Having A Devil Of A Time

It's not an everyday question at most companies: Do you have any symbols of ram's horns on your products? Yet that's what Procter & Gamble Co.'s public-relations staff is dealing with these days, as they once again fight off rumors that the company is somehow linked to satanism. A satanic ram's-horn symbol, the rumor goes, will soon start appearing on P&G products, bearing the devil's own number, 666.

For P&G, it's the rumor that won't go away. On Aug. 28, the company sued Randy L. Haugen, an independent Amway Corp. distributor in Ogden, Utah, charging that he and unnamed others had made false and defamatory statements linking the company to satanism. This is the sixth suit P&G has filed involving an Amway distributor and the 15th overall since rumors started 15 years ago. But even if P&G wins the case, as it has before, it's not likely that the consumer-products giant will stamp out the rumor.