Bespoke Kleenex Box

What took them so long?

Get yours for $4.99 right here.

Bruce Horovitz, in today's USA Today Money section front-page story, provided the details; the article follows.

Here's a new way to keep photos under your nose

Next time you blow your nose, you may find yourself thinking about your girlfriend. Or your kid. Or your dog. Or so Kleenex hopes.

Today, paper-products giant Kimberly-Clark will unveil plans to sell customized Kleenex boxes. Each oval-shaped, cardboard pack can be adorned with photos of just about anyone or anything folks want.

With the $7.2 billion household paper products market stalled — and Kleenex sales off last year — the brand is embracing personalized products. In a world where consumers can customize their Nike shoes, M&M candies and even their Heinz ketchup labels, the Kleenex box is jumping into the fray.

"It's the brand as me," says Grant McCracken, a cultural anthropologist. For an emerging generation of YouTube enthusiasts who prefer to blaze their own paths, reducing consumer-created content to the tissue box might work, he says.

But not without sticker shock. A conventional box of Kleenex costs about a buck. But the newfangled "My Kleenex" box, sold online at mykleenextissue.com, sells for $4.99 — plus roughly $3 shipping.

That's about $8 for one box.

"This strikes me as the height of idiocy," says Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. "It says to me that we have too much stuff and too much money."

Kimberly-Clark thinks otherwise. It's already tried goosing sales by infusing perfumes, lotions and germicides into Kleenex. Now this.

"People love to express their own personal style," says Peggy Nabbefeldt, marketing director for Kleenex. "Now, you can take the special moments of your life and commemorate them on a Kleenex box."

She suggests weddings. Or graduations. Or special vacations. During a test among company employees over Christmas, one worker placed a personalized marriage proposal on a Kleenex box, Nabbefeldt says.

There is a limit to what can go on the box. The company will not print hate messages, violence, nudity or unapproved company trademarks, says Rob George, associate marketing manager.

At a time when generics are cleaning Kleenex's clock, the company hopes its personalized boxes nudge people to "bond" with the brand, Nabbefeldt says. In an ultra-visual pun, the site even advises folks: Let out your creative juices.

What to do with an empty box?

That's a bit of a sticky wicket. "Now you're getting into the area of throwing away memories," warns Steven Addis, a branding expert.

Not to worry. Kleenex is hot on the trail, George says. The website will suggest uses for empty boxes — such as pencil holders or a spot for potted plants. But not, heaven forbid, a place to stuff used Kleenex.

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But wait, there's more!

Kimberly-Clark, Kleenex's parent, last month started a Kleenex blog, called — catchily enough — "Let It Out."

You could look it up.