Check Out The Squatty Potty In 'The Greatest Viral Ad In Internet History'

I had a friend that traveled to a remote area of Thailand to work at a refugee camp. What proved to be his biggest adjustment was that there were no toilets and he learned he needed to squat to poop. He's been squatting ever since.

No doubt he'd be thrilled to get a Squatty Potty for Christmas.

The Squatty Potty was described in a January 2014 issue of Men's Health is "essentially a step stool, costing between $24.99 (for white plastic) and $74.99 (for the bamboo version), that slides against the base of a toilet. You place both feet on the platform and your knees are pushed above your hips, creating a natural 'squatting' position. It's how people used to crap before the invention of the modern toilet, back when we were still doing our business in the woods or any open hole with a modicum of privacy."

The Squatty Potty was invented by Utah-based entrepreneur Robert Edwards who explained his rationale for his product this way to Men's Health: "By opening the colon, pooping in the natural squat position makes elimination faster, more complete, and reduces straining," he said. Squatting rather than sitting could help prevent things like constipation, hemorrhoids, colon cancer, appendicitis, IBS, hernias, diverticulosis, and pelvic organ prolapse. But just as important, he said, "Squatting feels better. The excellent feeling that comes from a complete elimination is ubiquitous. Everyone likes a good poo, and with the Squatty Potty, you are rarely denied a full complete elimination."

But how do you market such a paradigm shift in the way you shit?

With cheeky humor, it turns out which can found throughout this clever ad for a product you never knew you might need, but you will likely never forget... especially when you eat soft-serve ice cream.

It features an Elizabethan garbed prince (who looks like a Millennial hipster) and a unicorn dispensing rainbow-hued soft-serve ice cream to explain the product.

The prince explains: "When you sit on a porcelain throne your muscles put a kink in the hose and stops the Ben and Jerry's from sliding out smoothly."

He later adds: "No, Squatty Potty is not a joke, and yes it will give you the best poop of your life, guaranteed.

"I don't just mean you bloated lords and hemorrhoidal ladies, I mean everyone."

"After watching this ad, you might never think of pooping or soft-serve ice cream the same way again. Because, well, they're connected. By an adorable, bright-eyed unicorn with very active bowels," wrote Ad Week's T.L. Stanley in reporting on the ad campaign on the magazine's website this past October.

The ad, Ad Week reports, is the work of the Harmon Brothers, ad mavens whose outside-the-box thinking as made them go-to video creators for difficult-to-market products. They previously had success with a campaign for Poo-Pourri, a toilet spray that eliminates odor.

As in that ad, the spokesperson speaks with a British accent; in this case giving him his Elizabethan persona that allows for plenty of puns "as they dub the Squatty Potty a 'foot stool fit for a constipated king,' but available to anyone, not just 'bloated lords and hemorrhoidal ladies.'

They also invent "an adorable, bright-eyed unicorn with very active bowels" who demonstrates how to use the Squatty Potty."

At first the Edwards didn't get the idea of the unicorn. Edwards' mother and business partner, Judy, didn't much grasp the unicorn concept at first, but Edwards says he thought it was "kind of brilliant. I know how popular unicorns are these days," AdWeek reports.

Whether or not the ad has impacted sales is difficult to discern, though as of October sales were up to $8 million, and the company is expanding its reach. "The product was initially distributed only online, but expanded post-Shark Tank to Target and Bed Bath & Beyond with the help of 'shark' investor Lori Grenier. The video aims to pump up fourth-quarter sales, when Edwards said some people give the product as a gift."

With Christmas coming up, it might be just be a great stocking stuffer. And check out the ad that writer Cory Doctorow on the website Boing Boing calls "the greatest viral ad in Internet history."

For more on Squatty Potty, visit the product's website.