The advertising history of Procter & Gamble

October 21, 2006 1:42 PM

Help me find some good resources on the history of Procter & Gamble's advertising.

I'm writing an essay about P&G's history of advertising and how it has changed since it was founded. So far I have found 3 books:

• Soap Opera: The Inside Story of Procter & Gamble, by Alecia Swasy
• Rising Tide: Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter & Gamble, by Davis Dyer, F. Dalzell and R. Olegario
• Personalities & Products: A Historical Perspective on Advertising in America (Chapter 7), by Edd Applegate

The first two seem to be about the general history of P&G, although I think they will probably talk about its advertising campaigns. The last has a history of the first 100 years of P&G ads.


So, there are two parts to my question:

1. Can you suggest any other books, journal/magazine articles or other types of sources along these lines?

2. Are there any particularly interesting or significant points in P&G's advertising or general history which I can use to guide my research?
(Some which I have already come across in my cursory research are false rumours of a link between Satanism and P&G, its pioneering in market research, and its sponsoring of soap operas.)

posted by catburger to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

Speaking as a former employee (although not in marketing or adverstising) I can say the company has extensive archives and people staffed in dedicated positions to deal with inquiries about the history of the company. Come Monday morning you should give them a call. I'm sure they will be helpful. The main number is +1 513.983.1100. Also, the Cincinnati Public Library undoubtable has in its collection some materials that you seek. The researchers they could also point you in the right direction.
posted by mmascolino at 2:00 PM on October 21, 2006

Response by poster: mmascolino, I think their archives would be helpful. What would I say to the person answering the phone, though? "I'm writing a research essay..."?

My only concern about calling their staff is that they would filter out any negative information for the sake of good PR. I would like any bad history about the company so that this essay is somewhat well-rounded.
posted by catburger at 2:12 PM on October 21, 2006

Your concerns are of course well founded for dealing with any organization. I'd ask for the Corporate Archives and if that doesn't work, try asking for Media Relations.
posted by mmascolino at 2:17 PM on October 21, 2006

You might also try the Cincinnati Historical Society Library.
posted by cramer at 3:16 PM on October 21, 2006

The Smithsonian Institution Archives' "Center for Advertising History" might be of help.
posted by ericb at 4:59 PM on October 21, 2006

Also -- Duke's Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History might also be of help.
posted by ericb at 5:02 PM on October 21, 2006

Are there any particularly interesting or significant points in P&G's advertising or general history which I can use to guide my research?

Somewhere along the line you'll come into contact with the urban legend regarding the company's supposed connection with the "Church of Satan."
posted by ericb at 5:07 PM on October 21, 2006

Best answer: I went to the OCLC WorldCat bibliographic database, which catalogs the holdings of many libraries who subscribe/contribute to it, and searched "Procter & Gamble." I see from your profile that you are located in Canada, but you didn't specify which province. The following selected titles are located in public/university libraries across Canada:

Procter & Gamble : the house that Ivory built

Eyes on tomorrow : the evolution of Procter & Gamble

It floats : the story of Procter & Gamble

Many of the relevant titles listed are only located in libraries in the U.S. (you could check online booksellers). I don't know whether you could get materials via interlibrary loan from U.S. libraries or not. There are some fascinating titles on the list, many of which are held by the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, which cramer provides a link to above.

Also, several of the Canadian libraries hold all of the titles listed above. If one or more of those libraries is near you, you might search its online catalog to see what else it holds.
posted by initapplette at 7:20 PM on October 21, 2006

Response by poster: Thank you all for your help.

initapplette, I am in Ottawa and I managed to find all those through the public library by searching for "procter". I could have sworn I'd already done that search.. d'oh. Thank you for the link to the OCLC catalogue, I sense that will come in handy in the future.
posted by catburger at 8:16 PM on October 21, 2006

Don't overlook Richard Powers's novel Gain (1998), about an imaginary firm called the Clare Soap and Chemical Company, obviously based on Procter & Gamble. The novel tells the history of the company through a series of brands, slogans and advertisements (all totally fictitious, but precisely imagined and utterly plausible); and one of the main themes of the novel is the way the advertising keeps on changing: 'cleanliness and hygiene' in the 1890s, 'labour-saving' in the 1950s, and finally 'eco-friendly' in the 1990s, as the company transforms itself into 'Clare Material Solutions: The Advanced Research Group'. It's a funny, intelligent and despairing novel, and would fit perfectly into your essay.
posted by verstegan at 1:34 AM on October 22, 2006

I'm not sure when you need to finish this essay, but one of my good friends is a brand manager at P&G. I no longer live in Cincinnati, but he's still there and might be able to help you. If you're interested in me sending him an email on your behalf, find my email in my profile and drop me a line.
posted by allthewhile at 10:56 AM on October 22, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks verstegan and allthewhile, you've both contributed unique angles that I wouldn't have thought of. It's not due for another month and a bit, so I'll wait to see how it takes shape.
posted by catburger at 3:10 PM on October 22, 2006