The Tylenol murders and the trust recovery

Trustonomy

Over three days in the fall of 1982, seven healthy people in the Chicago area died suddenly. At first, medical examiners were baffled but soon realized all the victims had taken Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. Public trust in the medication vanished overnight. Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Tylenol, had to act fast if they wanted to save lives and their product.

This season we’ve been sharing stories about companies and organizations that made mistakes and lost public trust. In this episode, we’re looking at a company that did nothing wrong but had to find a way through a crisis to rebuild trust.

Veteran Chicago news reporter Phil Rogers recalls how the Tylenol Murders terrified the nation and how Johnson & Johnson managed the crisis. OneTrust’s Chief Trust Architect, Andrew Clearwater, examines how Johnson & Johnson defied the odds and actually strengthened trust in their brand.