It's not in our typical habit to report on ad-campaign gimmicks, much less "seasonal" ones. This seems worthy of exception, however: Starting next week, Charmin, the toilet-paper maker, will cut out the advertising middlemen and directly ensure that New York City feels the soft touch of Charmin Ultra directly upon its collective ass.

Yes, Charmin is going to open a free public restroom in Times Square, which will function from Monday through the end of the year. It will feature twenty stalls (!), a seating lounge (!!), and a cast of attendants cleaning each stall after each use (!!!). To quote the Times, which even provides a mockup façade of the place (though, thankfully, not the interior), "Charmin representatives will be roaming the streets dressed as toilets." Hey, just like the old Times Square!

The restroom, incidentally, will take the place formerly occupied by a different kind of shithouse: the departed Bar Code.

Charmin to New York: 'Go in Style' [NYT]