"Pass me a tissue. Thanks. Hang on-it's not a Kleenex, is it?" This is the sort of chat you might have heard around Japan in the 1980s. During that decade, Kleenex launched an impressive ad campaign. The main characters in the ad were a woman in white and a young boy, dressed up as a tiny ogre. The music for the ad was "It's a Fine Day" by Jane and Barton.
All was not fine, however. Perhaps because the song was in a foreign tongue, rumors stared circulating that the tune was a German folk song with the lyrics "Die, die, everyone is cursed and will be killed." Probably not quite what Kleenex were going for.
As a result, many viewers found the advert disturbing and several complaints were made. The ad was eventually pulled, but as soon as it was, the legends came thick and fast. The actress in the ad-Keiko Matsuzaka-was allegedly driven mad, or had become pregnant with the devil's child, depending on who you listened to. The young child playing the ogre-slash-pumpkin-human hybrid died mysteriously. Every member of the crew that worked on the ad died as well.
With all that death and destruction, you'd definitely need a tissue or two to keep the tears at bay.
