Ancient Chinese Mystery

December 20, 2005 2:22 PM

CalgonFilter: Ancient Chinese secret or ticket to "away" . . . or both?

Fully realizing the esoteric nature of this question, I am puzzled nonetheless. Recall, if you will, two advertising campaigns featuring a product called 'Calgon'. One, a line of bath/beauty products, used the tagline, "Calgon, take me away." The other, a fabric softener, was the weapon of choice for a sneaky laundery using the tagline, "Ancient Chinese secret." A cursory examination does not indicate any relationship between the two but my mind won't let go of the possibility that the secret to cleaner, whiter clothes and luxurious bathing are contained within the chemical make-up of a single product.

To further muddy the water (heh), there is also a company that sells activated carbon under the name Calgon. And if that wasn't enough, there is also a refrigeration supply company called 'Nu-Calgon' although, truthfully, this may be a red herring.

So, getting around to formulating a question—are these companies/products related via some murky multi-national corporation? What is the deal with the proper noun "Calgon" that makes marketing departments salivate at the thought of branding their products thusly? At the very least, why hasn't this been litigated to death in this day and age of zealously guarding IP interests? Wikipedia lays out some of the factual background but, ultimately, is as unsatisfying as a sip of water in the middle of the Mojave.

While the questions are not earth shattering in importance, your answers may help me concentrate on more productive matters, thus improving the nation's GNP ever so slightly in these trying economic times.

posted by Fezboy! to grab bag (7 comments total)

I searched for "calgon" on the US trademark search page. They are both very old.

WATER SOFTENING AND WATER CONDITIONING CHEMICAL FOR INDUSTRIAL, LAUNDRY, AND SEMI-INDUSTRIAL USE. FIRST USE: 19330504. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19330504

(EXPIRED) IC 003. US 051. G & S: BUBBLE BATH AND BATH OIL COMPOSITIONS. FIRST USE: 19610907. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19610907
(I couldn't find the current Calgon bath trademark.)

As long as they stay in their own business areas, no litigation required.
posted by smackfu at 2:40 PM on December 20, 2005

I remember the ads you are talking about. The bath product and the clothing product are essentially the same. The 'ancient Chinese secret' was a water softener, not a fabric softener. In the days before synthetic detergents became common, clothes were laundered with soap, which doesn't work as well in hard water as in soft water. (in areas with soft water, this isn't as much as a problem.) I believe the product is essentially sodium carbonate (perhaps it's sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda).

The "take me away" product is the same, except with surfactants (bubbles), pretty colors and nice scents added. Because it softens the water, it helps prevent bath tub ring, which is what you'd get if you took a bubble bath in hard water. I don't think the product would have been very successful if the 1970s housewife would be stuck cleaning off a blue/purple/green ring in the tub after her relaxing bath.
posted by luneray at 3:50 PM on December 20, 2005

Both the beauty products and the laundry aid (which is a water softener, not a fabric softener), were probably originally different facets of the same basic business: getting soap and detergent to work properly in hard water. Hard water has a lot of calcium and magnesium salts (hence the name Cal[cium] Gon[e].

The beauty products have doubtless evolved from that humble beginning.

The two lines of business may or may not be owned by the same company, now. It's even possible that they were never owned by the same company, but that one licensed the brand from the other for a new line of products.
posted by Good Brain at 3:51 PM on December 20, 2005

baking soda?
posted by konolia at 5:58 PM on December 20, 2005

Washing Soda
posted by Good Brain at 7:00 PM on December 20, 2005

A note about hard water:
Hard water does worse things than inhibiting soap. In laundry, it can leave stains. On surfaces such as your kitchen counter (around the sink) or your shower, it leaves deposits that are extremely difficult to remove.

I've never seen such hard water in the US. In Europe it was a serious problem. I never did laundry without Calgon in England, where I had a brand-new washer. This keeps the washer running better.
posted by Goofyy at 12:21 AM on December 21, 2005

Thank you all. Seriously.
posted by Fezboy! at 1:12 PM on December 21, 2005