Updated: Oct 19, 2022
by Gary Cohen
I was a good student in math. I’m talking arithmetic here. Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division. When I was in school, we had to memorize the multiplication tables. 8 x 8 = 64. 9 x 9 = 81. Etc.
But nothing I learned in math prepared me for the “new math” of toilet paper sheet counts!
1 = 4 claim the packages. 4 = 16. No it doesn’t. 1 = 1 and 4 = 4.
What the marketing geniuses are trying to say is, 1 Mega Super Jumbo Roll = 4 Not So Mega, Not So Jumbo Rolls. But even that math doesn’t add up.
No wonder kids aren't good at math today.
Seriously. All of these companies are trying to convince the consumer that they offer
the best value. And it sure is hard to cut through all of the clutter in advertising.
We did it too. We shouldn't have. We will change it when we change
our packaging again.