CINCINNATI, Aug. 28, 1995 -- The Procter & Gamble Company today filed a lawsuit against a high ranking individual associated with the Amway Corporation, for spreading false and malicious statements connecting P&G with satanism.

A suit was filed in the United States District Court of Utah against Randy Haugen, a high ranking "diamond level" distributor of Amway products. Mr. Haugen appears in Amway's corporate publications and is a member of the executive committee of the Amway Distributors Association Council. The executive committee establishes ethical policies, goals and objectives of Amway distributors. The complaint states Mr. Haugen used Amway's electronic voice mail system, Amvox, to spread the rumor to other Amway distributors.

"We have been fighting this outrageous rumor for over fifteen years. Throughout that time, people associated with Amway have played a role," said Procter & Gamble Senior Vice President and General Counsel James J. Johnson. "Over the years we have had numerous incidents, beyond this lawsuit, linking the spread of the rumor to Amway distributors. Additionally, nearly half of the lawsuits we have filed in connection with this rumor have involved Amway distributors.

"Amway competes directly with P&G in a number of our product lines, and some Amway distributors have used this rumor to encourage a consumer boycott of P&G products," Johnson added. "Our efforts in the past to get the Amway Company itself to put a halt to this illegal business practice by their distributors have obviously proved futile. We intend to vigorously enforce our legal rights. We are also reviewing other possible legal actions involving Amway distributors."

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.

P&G has answered almost 200,000 calls and letters about these false rumors during the past fifteen years. Calls and letters peaked in 1982, 1985, 1990, and now again in 1995. In the United States this year, consumer contacts to the company went from 22 a day in the beginning of March to nearly 200 a day in May when the false stories began spreading.

Prominent religious leaders and organizations from virtually every denomination have condemned spreading these false rumors. 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.

Johnson added, "We have successfully filed lawsuits over the years against a number of people who were intentionally spreading this lie, and will do so again if necessary. In the meantime, we are hopeful that if people hear this rumor, they will help halt it by communicating the truth to those individuals who, for whatever reason, are trying to keep it alive."

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What is Wrong With MLM Article

I)		Market Saturation		Just who is in charge of this here train?
II)		Pyramid Structure		Denial is more than just a river in Egypt... it seems
III)		Morality and Ethics		How low will people stoop when there is no one left to sell to?
IV)		Relationship Issues		Friends as "marks" and neighborhoods as markets

 

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