I
own a number of old magazines, among them a Ladies
Home Journal from August 1938. I find the advertisements as interesting as
the articles. This week I thought I’d post a couple ads about Pepsodent© toothpaste, along with a brief history for anyone who likes to read or write in this time period.
Pepsodent©
was a popular brand of toothpaste back in the mid-20th century. Its early history
is sketchy, but it may have started as a dentrifice in powder form, eventually
taking on paste form. It was advertised to fight tooth decay and
whiten teeth.
Pepsodent© was well-known for its
minty flavor derived from sassafras. Its key ingredients were irium and I.M.P.
Irium is sodium lauryl sulphate, a
detergent commonly found in toothpastes and other products today. (You may be
familiar with the claims that it has poisonous properties.) Lauryl sulphate
foams, which was a plus because it made people feel as if it was really
working. Claims were that the foam helped carry away debris. Lauryl sulphate
also has antibacterial properties.
I.M.P. was supposed to whiten teeth,
but what it stands for remains unknown.
Great article, Candice.
ReplyDeleteAs many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of XM Radio Classics. These are all of the old-timey radio programs of the 30's, 40's, and 50's, before television sets were commonly known. One of the things I love is that they keep all of the programming intact, including the commercials. It's so interesting! Especially in the 40's when ads for war bonds, victory gardens, and meat stamps were common. I've learned a lot just from the commercials! :-)