"I am disrespectful to dirt! Can you see I am serious?" - a clip from the Mr. Sparkle commercial, "In Marge We Trust"
When
Homer Simpson was scavenging at the
city dump in
The Simpsons episode 4F18, "
In Marge We Trust", he found something even more disturbing than the rabid raccoon that took a swipe at him: a discarded pink box featuring his face. What was this mysterious box, why was Homer's face on it, and where did it come from?
Bart postulated that the box was from the future, but in fact it turned out to come from
Japan.
After some research at the library, Homer tracked down some information about the box and learned that it was, in fact, Mr. Sparkle laundry detergent from Japan, a product which banishes dirt to the land of wind and ghosts. The Simpsons watched a video tape sent to them by the manufacturers in which Homer's head bopped along a series of scenes, challenging others to join him in his fight against dirt and grime as a reporter interviews a cow and undersea women turn into sumo wrestlers.
The end of the tape revealed just how the Mr. Sparkle character came to look like Homer: Mr. Sparkle was a joint venture between two Japanese companies, Matsumura Fishworks (whose logo was a smiling fish) and Tamaribuchi Heavy Manufacturing Concern (whose logo was a yellow lightbulb). The two logos merge to symbolize the joint venture, forming a perfect likeness of Homer's head in a wacky coincidence. "There's your answer, fishbulb," Bart says at the revelation. For lucky best wash, use Mr. Sparkle.
Incidentially, certain Homer Simpson action figures come packaged with a small Mr. Sparkle box made of plastic.
References:
http://www.snpp.com/episodes/4F18
Join me or die. Can you do any less?