Article Number: 5208
Shaw Illustrates Stain Resistance of its Anso Fiber, record pie fight proves cleanability
By Matthew Spieler
GRAPEVINE, TEX.—They say records are made to be broken. And that is exactly what Shaw Industries did at its regional market here to prove the stain resistance and performance attributes of its Anso nylon fiber.
The world’s largest carpet manufacturer staged what turned out to be the world’s largest pie fight as it demonstrated—on film— he fiber’s ability to repel traditional household stains such as chocolate, cherry and apple, as well as its capacity to be easily cleaned of debris—not just tracked in dirt, but trampled on pie crust, whipped cream and filling.
With Danny Girton Jr., adjudications executive of Guinness World Records, on hand to verify the event, and bleachers full of cheering people, 434 brave souls (Shaw employees and customers, along with local residents)— armed with 1,200 cherry, chocolate and apple pies—stepped onto 3,750 square feet of Shaw’s Sandy Hollow II Anso carpet in, of course, beige, to attempt to break the record that was just set Sept. 17, on the TV show “LIVE! With Regis and Kelly,” in which 269 people participated.
To break the record, which was originally set in 2005 by 50 people in Scotland, the fight needed to meet certain requirements:
• It had to last at least 60 seconds, meaning participants had to continuously throw pie—whole or pieces—for a minute.
• Each pie had to be at least 6.5 inches in diameter, have a crust and contain some type of traditional pie filling.
When the buzzer sounded, Girton certified the record had been broken and presented Randy Merritt, Shaw’s president, with a framed certificate recognizing the achievement.
“That was thrilling,” Merritt said afterwards. But, he was even more thrilled a few hours later, after Shaw’s local Spectra cleaning crew successfully removed approximately 3,000 pounds of pie and returned the carpet to like-new condition.
What made the cleaning more remarkable was the conditions in which the cleaners had to work. The event was staged in a temporary tent at night, and Dallas was experiencing record low, freezing temperatures. On top of that, the crew had to work while the tent was being taken apart. “Even as things were being dismantled, they focused on the task at hand,” Merritt explained.
A large swath of the cleaned carpet was hung near the Shaw showroom the next day with a video highlighting the event and cleanup. The rest was sent to Dalton to be divided up as part of P-O-P materials designed around the mill’s new marketing campaign, “Anso? Hope so,” which focuses on the cleanability and durability of the fiber brand (FCNews, Dec. 21/28).
“We can’t wait to tell consumers that Anso nylon survived the World’s Largest Pie Fight,” he noted. “Although we weren’t surprised by the positive performance, the pie fight will help consumers fully appreciate Anso’s stain-repelling power. Consumers will understand if a carpet can hold up to 1,200 pies, it will stand up to everyday life.”
While the event proved to be a good time for all involved, Merritt said the company didn’t want to make light of wasting food because people are going hungry, so Shaw made a donation to the local chapter of Feed America, the largest domestic-relief hunger charity. It will provide up to 70,000 meals in 13 Texas counties.
The event can be viewed at shawfloors.com/anso/piefight. It is even posted on YouTube.
GRAPEVINE, TEX.—They say records are made to be broken. And that is exactly what Shaw Industries did at its regional market here to prove the stain resistance and performance attributes of its Anso nylon fiber.
The world’s largest carpet manufacturer staged what turned out to be the world’s largest pie fight as it demonstrated—on film— he fiber’s ability to repel traditional household stains such as chocolate, cherry and apple, as well as its capacity to be easily cleaned of debris—not just tracked in dirt, but trampled on pie crust, whipped cream and filling.
With Danny Girton Jr., adjudications executive of Guinness World Records, on hand to verify the event, and bleachers full of cheering people, 434 brave souls (Shaw employees and customers, along with local residents)— armed with 1,200 cherry, chocolate and apple pies—stepped onto 3,750 square feet of Shaw’s Sandy Hollow II Anso carpet in, of course, beige, to attempt to break the record that was just set Sept. 17, on the TV show “LIVE! With Regis and Kelly,” in which 269 people participated.
To break the record, which was originally set in 2005 by 50 people in Scotland, the fight needed to meet certain requirements:
• It had to last at least 60 seconds, meaning participants had to continuously throw pie—whole or pieces—for a minute.
• Each pie had to be at least 6.5 inches in diameter, have a crust and contain some type of traditional pie filling.
When the buzzer sounded, Girton certified the record had been broken and presented Randy Merritt, Shaw’s president, with a framed certificate recognizing the achievement.
“That was thrilling,” Merritt said afterwards. But, he was even more thrilled a few hours later, after Shaw’s local Spectra cleaning crew successfully removed approximately 3,000 pounds of pie and returned the carpet to like-new condition.
What made the cleaning more remarkable was the conditions in which the cleaners had to work. The event was staged in a temporary tent at night, and Dallas was experiencing record low, freezing temperatures. On top of that, the crew had to work while the tent was being taken apart. “Even as things were being dismantled, they focused on the task at hand,” Merritt explained.
A large swath of the cleaned carpet was hung near the Shaw showroom the next day with a video highlighting the event and cleanup. The rest was sent to Dalton to be divided up as part of P-O-P materials designed around the mill’s new marketing campaign, “Anso? Hope so,” which focuses on the cleanability and durability of the fiber brand (FCNews, Dec. 21/28).
“We can’t wait to tell consumers that Anso nylon survived the World’s Largest Pie Fight,” he noted. “Although we weren’t surprised by the positive performance, the pie fight will help consumers fully appreciate Anso’s stain-repelling power. Consumers will understand if a carpet can hold up to 1,200 pies, it will stand up to everyday life.”
While the event proved to be a good time for all involved, Merritt said the company didn’t want to make light of wasting food because people are going hungry, so Shaw made a donation to the local chapter of Feed America, the largest domestic-relief hunger charity. It will provide up to 70,000 meals in 13 Texas counties.
The event can be viewed at shawfloors.com/anso/piefight. It is even posted on YouTube.
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