!44: Why Kleenex Are Called Facial Tissues Instead of Disposable Handkerchiefs

!±8± Why Kleenex Are Called Facial Tissues Instead of Disposable Handkerchiefs

Kleenex facial tissue is a house-hold product. They are in most bathrooms across the country, and are a savior during cold and flu season. Everyone knows that Kleenex tissues are most commonly used for blowing noses, right? Well, if they are used for blowing noses...why aren't they called disposable handkerchiefs? That is certainly what they are used as. But instead they are called facial tissue. Why is that? Believe it or not, there is certainly a very specific reason why these throw-away cloths are known as facial tissues. That is because such tissues were originally invented and marketed for a distinct purpose, and that purpose was certainly not for use as a throw away handkerchief for blowing the nose.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation introduced Kleenex tissue in 1924 as a way for women to remove makeup from the face. You see, back in the 1920s, women put cold cream on their faces and then wiped it off with a towel to remove makeup. But now, instead of staining towels and having to wash them, Kleenex was a throw away alternative that was much easier to use and toss away. No more washing cloth towels and trying to remove stubborn makeup stains. The product was a success. Interestingly, in their first marketing campaigns, Kleenex brand tissues were shown being used in Hollywood makeup departments. These early advertisements showed stars like Helen Hayes and Jean Harlow using Kleenex tissues and cold cream to easily remove their heavy Hollywood makeup from their faces. The product was used for a few years with this use by women as the main idea behind the facial tissue.

Little did the executives at Kimberly-Clark know, despite these first advertising efforts as a tool to remove makeup from the face, the public at large-including men-had a different idea for the use of these makeup removal tissues. By 1926, just two years following their introduction to the marketplace, Kimberly-Clark Corporation received a lot of consumer letters stating that the tissues were actually commonly used as disposable handkerchiefs. This brought it to their attention that many people were using these tissues to blow their noses on instead of using them for makeup removal. These letters caught the attention of the bosses at Kimberly Clark Corporation, and they decided to do a little experiment to see if it was the truth.

To test the alternative use as a disposable handkerchief to blow the nose as a potential way to market the Kleenex product and increase sales, Kimberly-Clark conducted a survey in an Illinois newspaper. In this survey they ran an advertisement showing the two known uses of Kleenex facial tissue. The readers were asked which one was the most common use: as a way to remove cold cream from the face or as a disposable handkerchief for blowing noses. The data from the survey demonstrated that 60% of the newspaper's readers did in fact used Kleenex facial tissues as a disposable handkerchief.

By 1930, Kimberly-Clark changed their advertising campaign for Kleenex, focusing on using the facial tissue as a disposable handkerchief, and sales doubled! Now you know why they are called "facial tissue" and not "disposable handkerchiefs"! Doesn't it make perfect sense? Going to prove once again that the customer is always right!