Which 1964 Procter & Gamble campaign made the plea “Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin” famous?

Procter & Gamble’s 1964 Charmin advertising campaign made “Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin” famous.

The campaign introduced George Whipple, usually called Mr. Whipple, a fictional supermarket manager who repeatedly caught shoppers squeezing Charmin toilet-paper packages. He asked them not to do it, even though the demonstrations were designed to show that the paper felt soft. Actor Dick Wilson played Mr. Whipple in the commercials for more than two decades.

The advertisements turned a product texture into a memorable retail ritual. Rather than concentrating only on absorbency or price, the campaign invited consumers to test Charmin’s softness directly by handling the package. The repeated line became one of the best-known advertising phrases in the United States and helped make Mr. Whipple a durable commercial character.

The campaign is sometimes dated to 1964, when the character first appeared, although the commercials continued for many years afterward. Mr. Whipple was not the brand’s founder or a real store manager; he was a fictional spokesman created for the advertising campaign.