This article is missing information about the history of Lux in modern times. (December 2021) |
Lux is a global brand developed by Unilever.
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| Product type | Personal care |
|---|---|
| Owner | Unilever |
| Produced by | Hindustan Unilever[1] Unilever Sri Lanka[2] Unilever Pakistan[3] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1925 |
| Markets | Worldwide |
| Website | lux.com |
Lux is marketed primarily in South Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is also marketed in Brazil, Thailand, Middle East and South Africa.[4]
History
editOrigins and history
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The brand was founded by the firm Lever Brothers, now known as Unilever, in 1899.[5]
Advertising history
editLux Soap was introduced to America in 1925 by the Lever Brothers.[6] It was a white soap packaged in pastel colors designed to be comparable to the finer French soaps, but more affordable.[7] Once Lux Soap began its national campaign in 1926, it was also advertised for men and children.[7] The Thompson agency then began a campaign in 1928 to get endorsements from Hollywood actresses, by sending 425 actresses cases of Lux Soap. It received 414 endorsements in return, leading them to claim that 9 out of 10 stars in Hollywood use Lux Soap.[7][6] Among the actress who participated in the campaign was Louise Brooks, whose ads ran between 1928 and 1931.[8][9]
In 1933, advertisements claimed that Lux Soap was used by 686 out of 694 more well known actresses.[10] Lux Soap's Hollywood campaign along with its many other advertising efforts, would assist Lux Soap in becoming a worldwide leader in soap sales.[6] As the focus of advertising shifted from the use of Hollywood starlets to a focus on everyday women, Lux Soap declined in sales and was removed from the shelves in the 1990s. Lever Brothers shifted their focus to another soap, Dove.[6]
Lux Soap followed Colonial Great Britain to Zimbabwe, Africa, in the 1920s, but it took until the mid-20th century before Africans became familiar with toilet soap and few used it.[11] In the 1940s Lever Brothers began mass advertising for Lux, introducing their product as a soap associated with glamour and intelligence, and began using existing advertisements of international celebrities endorsing their products.[11] Lever Brothers began to offer different colored bars other than white and used depictions of African people with slogans that insinuated intelligent people used only Lux Soap.[11] In the 1960s and 1970s Lux Soap advertising shifted back to emphasizing glamour but this time used local models and singers instead of international stars.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Lux". Hindustan Unilever Limited website. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Lux launches Star Soap Collection". Unilever Sri Lanka. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Lux". Unilever Pakistan website.
- ^ "Lux – personal care brand of Unilever". Archived from the original on 27 December 2010.
- ^ "Our approach to sustainability". unilever.com. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ a b c d Ward, W. Peter (2019). The clean body : a modern history. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 978-0-2280-0063-1. OCLC 1104796443.
- ^ a b c Sivulka, Juliann (2001). Stronger than dirt : a cultural history of advertising personal hygiene in America, 1875–1940. Amherst, N.Y.: Humanity Books. ISBN 1-57392-952-2. OCLC 46785266.
- ^ "Louise Brooks & Lux Soap - United States and Canada". Louise Brooks Society. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
- ^ "Louise Brooks & Lux Soap - Elsewhere Around the World". Louise Brooks Society. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
- ^ Segrave, Kerry (2005). Endorsements in advertising : a social history. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-2043-X. OCLC 57515046.
- ^ a b c d Burke, Timothy (1996). Lifebuoy men, lux women : commodification, consumption, and cleanliness in modern Zimbabwe. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-1753-2. OCLC 33282205.
External links
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