Pass me the Kleenex, is something you’d say if you were about to sneeze, cry, or blow your nose… but now Kimberly-Clark (the company that makes Kleenex) has announced that at the end of this month that they will discontinue selling Kleenex facial tissue here in Canada.
How does that even happen? Well, the company cites ‘unique complexities’ as its reason for the decision, and what that basically means is that they don’t care to discuss the details or explain anything. Usually what it means though, is that sales are down to the point where it’s not feasible anymore, but I have no facts to back that up so it’s just my hunch.
But seriously, I ask again, how does that even happen. While there are many different brands of facial tissue, the de facto name that we all use is ‘Kleenex’. That usually means that it was the OG or it was the most common, much in the same way the most people refer to snowmobiles as ‘Ski-Doos’ or remote car starters as a ‘Command Start’. (Yes, ‘Command Start’ was an actual name brand, but they got bought out decades ago.)
So, in just a few generations, the term ‘pass me a Kleenex’ will become one of those things that people just say in that situation and they won’t know why, just like ‘roll down the window’, ‘hang up the phone’, “I taped that show’ or ‘don’t touch that dial’.
Farewell Kleenex. I miss you already, but I won’t cry over you… because I refuse to ask for some facial tissue.
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