Those of you who were following the "Satanic Panic" saga before the advent of the internet* might remember the old canard about Procter & Gamble, otherwise known on the Urban Legend circuit as Satan's front company. According to a rumor that began circulating sometime in the eighties, the corporation was supposedly a front for Satanism. Evidence of their devilish doings was encoded in their logo, whose thriteen stars held sinister connotations for people with too much time on their hands. The rumor was pervasive- I remember hearing it repeated as gospel by schoolmates and even my own father (who also thought megacorp Beatrice's name was code for '666.').

P&G did what they could to quash the rumors, but turned out to be a wasted effort. In the mid-nineties, however, rival soap and cosmetic distributors pushing Amway** products got in on the act, and convinced customers to switch loyalties by promoting the spurious rumors, even adding their own twist to sway the skeptical- P&G company CEO had appeared on the Donahue and Sally Jessie Raphael Shows to make public his allegiance to the Church of Satan! The predictable result was a wildfire that still sprouts up here and there, and reportedly cost the company millions in lost revenue; the company (as well as the Sally Jessie Show) has had to maintain disclaimer pages debunking the rumor.

In 1995, P&G filed a lawsuit against the Amway distributors who were intentionally spreading the rumors, but the unfair competition suit has taken until this year to find its way into court. It's finally over, and it leaves P&G with a very hefty settlement, just shy of twenty million dollars. *It lives
**Many Amway distributors have been accused themselves of cult-like behavior

More Stanic Panic:

Russian villagers eschew '666' passports
Satanic abuse accuser appeals