This box of Kleenex tissues is branded as ‘Mansize’, with the strap line “confidently strong/ comfortingly soft”. ‘Kleenex for Men’, which later became ‘Mansized’, was first launched in 1956, as an alternative to cotton handkerchiefs that claimed to ‘stay strong when wet’. In 2018, following public criticism by consumers concerned about gender inequality, sexism and stereotyping, Kleenex started to phase out the ‘Mansize ‘branding in favour of ‘Extra Large’. It retained the strap line and the black, grey, and orange design. This public criticism is an example of consumers demanding gendered stereotypes be removed from brands.

Shortly after Kleenex announced their intention to rebrand the tissues, in December 2018, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) in the UK announced it was introducing regulation to restrict gendered stereotyping in advertising, giving companies a period of six-months before it was introduced. The new regulation stated: “[Advertisements] must not include gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence”. This change was introduced following findings from a year- long review by the ASA which showed that gendered stereotyping could restrict choices or aspirations of all genders and played a role in perpetuating gender inequality.