TORONTO, Dec. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — When NBA star Scottie Barnes changed his name from Scottie to “Scotties” Barnes adding an “s’ on the end on social media, basketball fans were caught off guard. Last week, the NBA forward made the name-change announcement at a press conference. The surprising name-switch was actually a playful brand tie-in with Scotties, Canada’s #1 tissue brand, as part of a broader “Get the Name Right” marketing campaign.
“Who better to team up with Scotties than me? As a Toronto Raptor and honorary Canadian this partnership with Scotties is an alley oop!” said Barnes. “I actually thought ‘Scotties Barnes’ had a nice ring to it, but I can now confirm that my name will stay as Scottie.”
To bring the campaign to life, Scotties Facial Tissue enlisted help from TSN and its broadcasters to integrate the name change into coverage of Barnes and the Toronto Raptors’ Nov. 26 game against the Indiana Pacers, including the stunt press conference. Plus, SportsCentre, TSN’s flagship sports news and information show, featured the name change in a special edition of its fan-favourite “Top 10” segment, showing a clip from the Barnes press conference.
“This collaboration with Scottie Barnes has allowed Scotties to tap into the energy and enthusiasm of Canadian sports fans in a fresh and engaging way,” said Susan Irving, CMO Kruger Products. “With this new campaign, we wanted to playfully embed the Scotties name into a cultural moment – highlighting that consumers have been calling us by the wrong name for years while reminding Canadians that Scotties has been proudly serving them for over 60 years.”
As Canada’s #1 facial tissue, Scotties has been proudly made in Canada since 1956. Despite its long history in the country, when Canadians look for the brand, they don’t always use the name Scotties. Instead, they often use the name of a brand that exited the Canadian consumer market in 2023. This Scottie Barnes partnership is the latest stunt in the brand’s overarching campaign to help Canadians get the name right. Last year, the brand launched a humorous campaign centered around hypnotism, brought to life through a Toronto pop up event with a master hypnotist.
For more information on Scotties, please visit mykrugerproducts.ca/scotties.
About Kruger Products Inc.
Kruger Products is Canada’s leading manufacturer of quality tissue products for household, industrial and commercial use. Kruger Products serves the Canadian consumer market with such well-known brands as Cashmere®, Purex®, SpongeTowels®, Scotties®, White Swan® and Bonterra™. In the U.S., Kruger Products manufactures the White Cloud® brand, as well as many private label products. Kruger Products has approximately 3,000 employees and operates ten FSC®-certified CoC plants (FSC® C-104904) in North America. For more information, visit www.krugerproducts.ca.
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Media Contact
Aaron Short
North Strategic (for Kruger Products)
[email protected]
905-442-1923
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e8bb272e-3680-4aa7-925b-ddc267027091