The only real response to this can be, “really?“I’ve been meaning to post this since my last trip to WDW, when I found this little beauty glued to the wall over the restroom sink in EPCOT’s Morocco pavilion. It’s a shoddy cell phone picture, so if you can’t make it out it says:
Wet hands and apply soap.
Scrub hands and rinse.
Dry hands thoroughly using paper towels.
Hand washing tips provided by Brawny(tm)
I have many reactions to this aside from incredulous amusement. My reactions include sadness for:
– Brawny, who is so hard up for sponsorship opportunities (or have so much money to waste) that they’ll put their name on this
– Disney, for the fact that they’d actually take Brawny’s money for such a ridiculous thing
– The fact that there are no doubt some guests who could actually learn a thing or two from this
I think my absolute favorite part is the last line. It’s not content to just put the Brawny name on there, but it refers to these pearls of wisdom as “hand washing tips.” Thus underlining the fact that not only do they think we’re too incompetent to know how to wash our hands without “tips”, but that these insanely obvious instructions are clever, insightful, and useful enough to be classified as “tips.” Tips are useful shortcuts or insider information, like how to get the best viewing spots for Illuminations; they’re not basic hygiene tips that folks should have mastered by Kindergarten.
I know that they say that any publicity is good publicity, but I can’t imagine that this is how Brawny would like to impress their brand on us. Now whenever I see Brawny in the store, I think, “Those are the guys who think I’m too incompetent to wash my hands.” Marketing!
All this being said, I love this sign.
A handy tip: Print this image out, laminate it, and keep it in your wallet for your next trip to the sink!
I LOVE this. Those signs cracked me up when they arrived several years ago. I thought it was a joke. It was not.
Atleast the sponsorship of the restrooms is split up. I know in several facilities the sponsor is Sparkle instead of Brawny.
Glad Charmin didn’t get the contract!
The really sad thing is that these signs really do represent senior management’s opinion of guests.
Years ago… I think it was, ah, late 2005… a friend of mine arrived with no warning because he was moving to Florida soon. Being a Disney nut he insisted that we go into the park… despite it being December 26. On this day I stopped at the UK bathroom and there these little plaques were.. not yet affixed to the wall, just propped up and resting next to the sink. It was love at first sight. How charmingly stupid. Hand washing tips? Is it offensive or brilliant?
I should’ve taken one. But I didn’t. I’ve regretted it every day since.
My last act at Walt Disney World will be to pry one of these off the wall with a screwdriver.
Haha lots of comments on this one… I can’t believe they’ve been around so long and I hadn’t noticed them before! I guess I’ve been using the wrong bathrooms, or just have been oblivious. 2005 makes sense, though, as that’s when Brawny started sponsoring Lights, Motors, Action.
Foxx: Oh, I wish you had grabbed one! Offensive or brilliant… or both? It’s just so astoundingly dumb, I’d love to know the creative process that led to these.