Independent creative director Adrian Elton, the man behind the viral Clive Palmer Ikea ad, has applied his creative skills, hardened in the fires of the advertising industry, into solving Australia's great dunny paper crisis.
Multiple reports show empty shelves at supermarkets in Australia where toilet paper usually sits, as people panic buy, fearing a shortage brought about by the coronavirus.
Reports are also coming in from round the world of tissue shortages from panic buying. In Hong Kong, armed and masked men held up a supermarket to grab 600 rolls.
Adrian Elton: "My heart really goes out to all of the marketing teams, agencies and copywriters who have spent decades trying to craft the perfect message to move shitloads of bog roll, when as it turns out, they were there all along."
And the keyword is: pandemic.
"The magic words guaranteed to send the stuff flying off the shelves more quickly than a dodgy curry lodges its protest with the sphincter," says Elton on LinkedIn.
Elton shared via social media a repurposed Kleenex ad showing the cudly dog with a mask and the words: Something, Something, Pandemic.
As to why toilet paper is suddenly in such demand, there are many theories.
One is that people fear there will be a shortage because China will stop producing as the coronavirus takes hold. Problem with that is that Australia produces much of its own supplies.
Another is that buying supplies give people some measure of control in their lives when faced with a threat, the coronavirus, they cannot influence.
Brian Cook at the University of Melbourne: "It’s an interesting question. My suspicion is that it is to do with how people react to stress: they want an element of comfort and security."
Alex Russell, Central Queensland University: "People are scared, and they’re bunkering down. They’re buying what they need and one of the items is toilet paper. I think we’re noticing the toilet paper more than the other things because toilet paper packs are big items that take up a lot of shelf space."
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