Advertisement -- Pears' Soap.

1905-03-02

Periodicals -- Illustrations.

Advertising, Magazine -- United States -- History.

Quarter page advertisement for Pears' Soap.

Pears’ transparent soap (actually translucent) was first produced and sold in 1789 by Andrew Pears at a factory just off Oxford Street in London, England. It was the world's first clear soap. Pears’ Soap is now made by Unilever, and according to company records, Pears’ was the world's first registered brand and is therefore the world's oldest continuously existing brand. In the late 19th century, Pears soap became famous for its marketing, masterminded by Thomas J. Barratt. A campaign using John Everett Millais's painting “Bubbles” continued over many decades. As with many other brands at the time, at the beginning of the 20th century Pears also used their product as a sign of the prevailing European concept of the "civilizing mission" of empire and trade, in which the soap stands for progress. Seen in many Pears’ ads, Lillie Langtry's famous ivory complexion brought her income as the first woman to endorse a commercial product.

Volume 45, number 1166, page 238.

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Life, New York, NY: Life, 1883-1936

Image

Illustration

9 1/2 x 11 inches

Print on paper

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