After 68 years of keeping up appearances, Mr. Clean, the polished mascot of the cleaning product company with his name, is throwing in the towel.
In a retirement announcement video shared on the brand’s Instagram, Mr. Clean is shown addressing a crowd of reporters at a press conference, while donning shades and a Hawaiian shirt.
“It’s true, Mr. Clean has announced his retirement. After a career with zero stains on the record, he’s ready for new adventures,” a voice-over says, adding that while he is trading in his squeaky-clean image for a slower pace of life, Mr. Clean cleaning products will remain available.
The video ends with the brand telling customers to “stay tuned” for a fresh look.
In another post pinned to the brand’s Instagram page, Mr. Clean shared a screenshot from an iPhone notes app that says, “If you’re reading this, the rumors are true. I’m saying goodbye to the world of cleaning in pursuit of new hobbies,” which concluded with the sign off, “Stay clean, Veritably, (Formerly known as Mr. Clean).” Veritably was Mr. Clean’s first name, according to a third post from the brand.
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“The name’s Veritably — Mr. Very if you’re clean,” it says.
News of his retirement spurred a wave of reactions from other well-known household brands. Pillsbury, known for its easy-to-make pastry recipes, commented on the announcement, writing, “Excited to see what’s next for you, friend!”
Swiffer, which is owned by the same parent company as Mr. Clean, commented with two crying face emojis.
“We’ll miss you, king,” Instacart, the grocery delivery platform, wrote.
While Mr. Clean might be trading in his crisp white tee for a less flawless finish, company spokesperson Maytal Levi told the New York Times in a statement that there would be no changes to Mr. Clean packaging.
Mr. Clean’s spotless image was first devised by a commercial artist in 1958 when its parent company, Procter & Gamble — which also makes Bounty paper towels and Tide products — commissioned Richard Black to create a marketable persona for a line of household cleaning products.
In its original concept, the company envisioned a bald man with a nose piercing who mimicked genie imagery to imply that the products possessed magical cleaning abilities.
Black, who died more than a decade ago, came up with two sketches of a chiselled genie with a wide grin, one with a nose ring and the other with an earring.
The earring version won the toss-up and has remained the face of the brand since it launched its detergent-based products in a TV campaign in the late 1950s.
In another series of Instagram images with the caption, “New hobby, who dis? No one said retirement had to be boring …” Mr. Clean is depicted against a range of backdrops, including behind a DJ booth, grinning with his arms crossed and wearing ski goggles atop a mountain, on a running track, in a kitchen posing as a chef and draped in hiking equipment in front of a giant wall.
Products in the Mr. Clean range include Magic Eraser scrubbers, all-purpose cleaners, mops, plungers and wipes.
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