Lux (soap) explained

LUX
Type:Personal care
Currentowner:Unilever
Origin:United Kingdom
Markets:Worldwide
Producedby:Hindustan Unilever[1]
Unilever Sri Lanka[2]
Unilever Pakistan[3]

LUX is a global brand developed by Unilever.

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

Origins and history

The brand was founded by the firm Lever Brothers, now known as Unilever, in 1899.[5]

Advertising history

Lux 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lux. 2021-04-10. Hindustan Unilever Limited website. en.
  2. Web site: Lux launches Star Soap Collection. 2021-04-10. Unilever Sri Lanka. en.
  3. Web site: Lux. Unilever Pakistan website. en.
  4. Web site: Lux – personal care brand of Unilever . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101227093144/http://www.unilever.com/brands/personalcarebrands/lux/index.aspx . 27 December 2010 . dmy-all .
  5. "Our approach to sustainability". unilever.com. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  6. Book: Ward, W. Peter. 2019. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP . 978-0-2280-0063-1. 1104796443.
  7. Book: Sivulka, Juliann. Stronger than dirt : a cultural history of advertising personal hygiene in America, 1875–1940. 2001. Humanity Books. 1-57392-952-2. Amherst, N.Y.. 46785266.
  8. Web site: Louise Brooks & Lux Soap - United States and Canada . July 25, 2024 . Louise Brooks Society.
  9. Web site: Louise Brooks & Lux Soap - Elsewhere Around the World . July 25, 2024 . Louise Brooks Society.
  10. Book: Segrave, Kerry. Endorsements in advertising : a social history. 2005. McFarland & Co. 0-7864-2043-X. Jefferson, N.C.. 57515046.
  11. Book: Burke, Timothy. Lifebuoy men, lux women : commodification, consumption, and cleanliness in modern Zimbabwe. 1996. Duke University Press. 0-8223-1753-2. Durham. 33282205.