The Tylenol Murders Chapter2 The Growth of Public Relations 39 Arguably the two most important cases in the history ofthe prac- tice of public relations occured within four years of each other to the some company and product For close to 100 years, Johnson & Johnson Company of ‘New Brunswick New Jersey; was the epitome ofa well-managed highly profitable, and tight-lipped consumer products manu: facture. Round! ‘That image changed! on the morning of September 30,1982, when Johnson 8 Johnson facedas devastating apublicrelations problem ‘shad conionted any company in histor. ‘That moming Johnson & Johnsons management lesned thet its premier product, extra-stvength Tylenol, had been used as murder weapon to kill three people. the days that followed, “another thvee people died from swallowing Tylenol capsules loaded with cyanide. Although all he cyanide deaths occurred in Chicago eparts from other parts ofthe country also implicated cextro-strength Tylenol capsules in illnesses various sors. These latter reports were later proved to be unfounded, but Johnson {& Johnson and its Tylenal-producing subsidiary, McNeil Con- sumer Products Company, found themselves atthe center of & public relations trauma the kes of which few companies had ever ‘experienced Tylenol had been an astoundingly protable product for John sané&Johnson.AtthetimeoftheTylenel murdersthe product held 35 percent ofthe $1 bilon analgesic market It contributed anes mated percent the company's worldwide sales and almost 20, percent tots profts Throughout the years. Johnson &bnson had not been—and hadrit needed to be—a particularly high-profite ‘companys chairman, James Burke wh had been withthe com pan fralmost 30 years had never appearedon television andhad ‘arly patclpated in pint interviews Johnson & Johnson's management was caught totally by surprise when the news hit. The company recognized that it needed the media toget out as much information tothe pubic as ‘quickly as possible to prevent a panic Therefore, almost immedi- ately Johnson & Johnson made a key decision:to open its doors tothe media, ‘On the second day ofthe css Johnson & Johnson discovered thatan earl statement that no cyanide was used ont premises was wrong The company didnt hesitate ts public relations de- partment quickly announced that the ear information had been false Even though the reversal embarassed the compary bre Johnson & Johnsoris openness was hailed and made up for any damage tits redbility. Eatly on inthe criss the company was largely convinced that the poisonings had not occured at any ofits plants. Nonethe- less, Johnson & Johnson recalled an entice lot of 93,000 botties of fextrastrength Tylenol associated with the reported Chicago murders. the process ittelegrammed warnings todoctrs hos pitas and distributors, ata cost of half millon dolls. McNeil also suspended al Tylenol advertising to reduce attention tothe product. ‘ut what about all those other millon of dollars worth of ‘ylenal capsules on the nation shelves? ‘The company was convinced such a massive recall wast ar ranted bythe facts twas convinced that he tampering had taken ‘The triple safety-seale, tamper resistant package for Tylenol capsules had (07 alued Maps on the outer box. (23 tight plastic neck Seal and (3) strong inner fol seal over the mouth of the bottle. right yellow label on the bottle was imprinted witha red waring:"Do not use if safety seas are broken” ‘As tturned oul these precautions ddr work Counesy of ahasen Johan)40 Part Evolution place during the product's Chicago dst tion and not in the manufacturing process Fortes the FB was woried that a precip: tous recall would encourage copycet poi soning attempts. Nonetheless, five days later hen a copycat strychnine poisoning ‘occured in Califor, Johnson & Johnson sid recal all extrastrength Tylenol cap- suies—31 millon bottles ata cost of more ‘than $100 milion. ‘Although the company belived it ha one nothing wrong. Johnson & Johnson acted to assuage public concerns. also posted 2 $100,000 reward forthe killer of kilts Through advertisements promising to exchange capsules for tablets through thousands of letters to the trade, and shrough statements tothe media the com: ‘pany hoped to put the incident into proper perspective ‘At the same time, Johnson & Johnson «commissioned nationwide opinion survey to asess the consumer implications ofthe Tylenol poizonings. Thegoodnens es that £87 percent of Tylenol users surveyed said ‘they realized thatthe make of Tylenol was aot responsible” forthe deaths. The bed news wasthat6 perentstilsaid they Were rot key to buy exa-suength Tylenol cap sules in the futur, In other words, even though most consumers knew the deaths werent Tylenol fault.they stilfeared using the product But Chairman Burke and Johnson & Johnson werent about to knuckle under 10 the deranged saboteur or saboteurs who tha poisoned their product Despite predic- tions of the imminent demise of extra strength Tylenol, Johason & Johnson cided to relaunch the product ina new ‘iplesalety- sealed, tamper-esstant pack age igure 2-7. Many on Wal Steet and in the marketing community were stunned by Johnson Johnson's bold decison. Our CREDO. ie bteve our fist responsi othe doctor, nurses and patents, eesettere and fathers ad ll others who use our products and services. Ta meeting thee needs everything we do must be of high axa. ‘We must constantly strive fo reduce ov costs inorder to maintain reasonable pies, CCustomers’onders must be serviced promplly and accurately. ‘Gurnuppies end dstbutore mast have an opportunity soma sae prof ie are responsible o our employes. the men and woaten who work thus throughout the wor Everyone must be considered as a individual ‘We munt pect thee dgoty snd recognize their merit. ‘They must havea sense of secur thei os. ‘ompeneaton rust be fat and adequate, and working condone Glan reely and se, We must be mind of ways thelp our employees lt hte famly responses Employees ust feel re to make suggestions and complaints FRIES be equal opportunity for employment, development nd advancement for those quid \Wemrt provide competent management, rd theiactions mast be just and ethical ‘ic are response to the communities in which we lve and work ‘hd fo the word community a8 wel, ie mt be gool evens — support god works and chaites Mio bse car fae share of taxes ‘We must encourage cv improvements and better health and eeation ‘We mun sina in good order the property we ae prveged tue, protecting te environment and natal esoures ‘Our final esponsibility Ito ou stockholder. uvinet mast make a sound profi We unt experiment wth mew eas Resasch mnt be ale ons nnovative programe developed and mistakes pid for New equipment sat be purchased, neve ais provided ‘and new products launched Reserves must be ested a peo For adverse times Wikcn we operate according to thee pring pes, ‘he vockioder should eae a fat return Gohmronsffohowon FIGURE2-8 The Johnson & Johnson credo, (Courter onion Jchson) So confident was Johnson & Johnson's management that it taunched an al-out mecia bite to make sure tha people under stood its commitment. Chairman Burke appeared on television shows and in newspaper interviews. “The company even iit the Investigative news program 60 -Mioutes-the scourge of corporate America —to fits executive strategy sssionsto prepare forthe new launch. When the program ‘was aed reporter Mike Walace concluded that although Wallstreet tod been ready at ist 1 wike off the compary.it was now "neds- sng its bets because of Johnson & Johnson's stunning ompsign of facts money.the media,and uth” Finalyon November 17,1982, than two months afterthe mur ders lhnson & Johnsons managerentheld aneaborate videos conference in New York Cy beames to ackltiona locations around the country ointroduce the new extrasrength Teno package. inthe months that followed Burke’ news conference became cleat that yen} would not become scapegoat. Infact bythe be- ‘toning of 1983, Tylenol had recaptured an astounding 9 percentChapter2 The Growth of Public Relations 41 Round Ii A sgpcial message from the makers of TYLENOL products | — taein se evesing of ebay 1.196, are eee ecoeceee ene n es | ree eps began 0 chet tat 3 ‘roman hd invokes Newer | Ifyou have ‘Sigg er || TYLENOL capsules, | 27 we'llreplacethem =| fmsssnnoSs inldent.A phone survey found thatthe 2. ‘public didn't blame the company. However, wi atm the dscorey of ober poten Teal eps vo gaits the nih Tre trae The comp corded caplets. T5000 tee ale yer hot ne Sher agoa psutton Tera opts : seoshoted-Tm hearse Buke ld the And we'll doit at our expense. press"We dnt beleve could happen Thea toum and nobody esd eet” This tne athooghTylenl eared some tapecnet he Company set the fm deed once and toralvo | teu production ofa ver ecounter meet ncepe fom: tlre replace al used Teno! apse ith new eno caglets Sl fom of ed aon tht we es tomper prone are Por istmethe wie el psa ep A ‘ost Johnson & Johnson more than $150 seen seu ea milion ater tas. RUE ome ‘Once again, in the face of tragedy, the Sues etic company and its chaian receive high marks. As President Reagan al at aWhie House reception two weet after the iss itm Bure f Johnson & Johnson, you hove our deepest appreciation orting up Siete {othe highest ideals of orporate respon ee |S sity and grace under pressure” saan Questions 1.What might have been the conse quences if Johnson &ohnson had de- | cided tough OU the fist repos of “ylenl related dathsandnotreathe (Courtesy of Johnson 8 Johnson) FIGURE2-9 A special message. (Courtesy of Johnson obs) product? of spor marketshare. Morale atthe company, according tots 2 Whatotherpublc relations options dd Johnson & Johnson have chairman. higher than inyearIthadactedtruetothe"Creda” —__inesponding tothe fst round o Tylenol murders? hich sled out the companys bai (Figure 28).The euphoria 3, Do you think the company made a wise decision by rent | lasteduntt February 1966 hen unbelievablytagedy struckagain, ducing extrastrength Tyleno?42 Part Evolution 4 In light ofthe response of other companies not to move pre- Cpitously when faced witha crisis, do you think Johnson & Jonson should have acted so quickly to remove the Tylenol product when the secondroundof Tylenol murders occured in 19967 5. What specii lessons can be derived from the way in which Johnson & Johnson handled the public relations aspects of these uagedies? 6. What was the mea environment when the Tylenol cies 0¢- cued? How might the suis have dered ifthe es occured today? ‘See what information Johnson & Johnson offers forts customers ion the Tylenol Web ste (wurn:ylenol com). Follow the inks to the Care Cares House als,and FAQ sections How do these sec tions demonstrate Johnson & Johnson's concem fr customers? How do you think Johnson & Johnson would use this Web ste ‘tocommunicate wth the public if new health cares surfaced? For uche norman onthe fist ound of lenol murders ee dey Knight"Terts Mla hows Howto espa to Csi Washington Pos (Octaber 19021; Themas Meo The Fatt Seve Tylenol Fortune Noverbet 182} a; aldhoa "yn Regan Monto Na ate hoe Amsing Doomser Wl Se aol Decent 2182) and coe CRS WV bees 11988, forthe norman onthe second round enol murders ive Mother Maker Hopeful on ving Pelioning Cat Now ork Tims es 13/20, 1586 Seven rokesch’A Leader mars Hew Vr Tine Feb 18, 1946}: atdhot or ent Manoctre he Den to Be ‘gresine—But Not Appt Psy. Wal Set oul ebay 201986) 22nd ena ow 3 Company Respnds toa Calamity Us Rew 8 odd ot ebay 241900008 Foran oalview oftnion& Johnson nd THenolee Lawrence Fst ber Weed onan Te Geneon Rete tte Clage, Aan rs. 1998 Voice of Authority An Interview wi Bernays [Edward L.Bemays, who diedin 1995 tthe age of 103,was pub- le relations patiarch. A nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernaysplo- neered the aplication ofthe socialsciences to publ elatons.n ertership wth his late wif, he advised president of the United States industria leaders and legendary gute rom Enrico Caruso to Eleanor Roosevelt This interview was conducted withthe leg lendary counselor in his 8th year field growing gave heist cousin publi relations after Cytliing ub Opin ‘on was published in 1923. decided that one way to give the tem “counsel on public telations” status was to lecture at 2 university on the principes, practices and ethics ofthe new ‘vocation New York University was iting to accept mole todo so, ‘ut never envisioned at that time thatthe vocation would spreaa ‘throughout the United States and then thoughout the free work ‘The objctves were to give status tothe new vocetion Many people stllbellved the term counsel on publicreationswasa euphemism for publcy man, press agent flack. Even H.L. Mencken jn is book ‘on the American language ranked it as uch. Butin his Supplement {othe Amercon Language, published some yeaslserhe changed his viewpoint and used my defrition ofthe term, 2 of that frst publi public relations practi ‘Thermos significant factors therein people power adits recog- ition by leaders. Theodore Roosevelt helped bring this about with his Square Deal Woodrow Wilson helped with is New Freedom and S0 did Franklin Delano Roosevelt with his New Deal. And this rad tion was continued as time went on,