| Breck | |
| Type: | Hair care |
| Origin: | United States |
| Previousowners: | John H. Breck, Inc. (1930-1963), Shulton (1963-1990) |
Breck Shampoo is an American brand of shampoo that is also known for its Breck Girls advertising campaign.
In 1930, Dr. John H. Breck, Sr. (June 5, 1877 – February 1965) of Springfield, Massachusetts, founded Breck Shampoo. Advertising that "every woman is different," by the 1950s, the shampoo was available in three expressions, color-coded for easy identity:[1]
In 1963, Breck was sold to Shulton Division of American Cyanamid, a chemical company based in New Jersey.
Breck was sold to The Dial Corporation in 1990.[2] In 2001, Dial licensed Breck to The Himmel Group[3] [4] and in 2006 it was licensed to Dollar Tree.
The Dial Corporation (now Henkel North American Consumer Goods) continues to market Breck shampoo in the institutional market.
In 1936, son Edward J. Breck (1907–1993) assumed management of Breck Shampoo and hired commercial artist Charles Gates Sheldon (1889 – 1961) to draw women for their advertisements.[5] Sheldon's early portraits for Breck were done in pastels, with a soft focus and halos of light and color surrounding them. He created romantic images of feminine beauty and purity. He preferred to draw "real women" as opposed to professional models.
In 1957 Ralph William Williams succeeded Sheldon as the Breck artist. Unlike Sheldon, he often used professional women. Breck advertisements ran regularly in magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion, Seventeen, Vogue, Glamour, and Harper's Bazaar. They were most often on the back cover of the magazine. During these years, Breck Girls were identified through the company's sponsorship of America's Junior Miss contests. After Williams' death in 1976, the advertising tradition stopped. It was relaunched in 1987 with portrait artist Robert Anderson. Celia Gouge from Atlanta was chosen as the 1987 Breck Girl. Joanne DeLavan O'Donnell, also from Atlanta, was chosen as the 1988 Breck Girl. In 1988, the then owner of the brand changed the name of the campaign spokesperson to The Breck Woman.
The Breck Girls ads are archived in the advertising history records in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.