Charmin is a brand of toilet paper manufactured by Procter & Gamble, best known for its 21-year advertising campaign relating the worries of a fictional storekeeper, Mr. Whipple.
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History
The Charmin name was first created in 1928 by the Hoberg Paper Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1950, Hoberg changed its name to Charmin Paper Company and continued to produce bath tissue, paper napkins, and other paper products. Procter & Gamble (P&G) acquired Charmin Paper Company in 1957, but sold the right to make and market the product in Europe (where it is now known as Cushelle) to SCA in 2008.
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Advertising
Originally, the manufacturer wanted to emphasize the product's softness, but did not know how to convey that the idea of that physical sensation on television. The company's advertising agency suggested that shoppers be encouraged to squeeze the product in stores like a grocery shopper would squeeze a tomato to assess its softness, but there was some concern that retailers would object to customers manhandling their merchandise and thus damaging it before purchase. The problem was solved with the concept that the handling would be actively discouraged by a comic antagonistic retailer in the commercials. In an advertising campaign that lasted over twenty years, American advertisements featured actor Dick Wilson, playing the fictional grocer Mr. George Whipple. Mr. Whipple told his customers, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin!", emphasizing its softness in more than 500 commercials between 1964 and 1985.
The country song "Don' Squeeze My Sharmon," which was a minor hit for Charlie Walker in 1967, was inspired by the ad campaign for Charmin.
Charmin Ultra was originally called White Cloud until 1993.
Mascots
In 1928 the logo mascot was a female silhouette, supplemented by a baby in 1953, replacing the woman by 1956.
In commercials Mr. Whipple was eventually replaced with The Charmin Bear, created by D'arcy Advertising in Britain, was introduced to the United States in 2000. In 2001 three cubs were added to the family, and by 2007 a blue bear was introduced for the "soft" brand and a red bear for the "strong" brand.
By 2004, Procter & Gamble re-branded the packaging, replacing the 35-year-old generic baby that was used since the Mr. Whipple ads with The Charmin Bear in a Super Bowl commercial.
The new animated advertising campaign was called "Call of Nature." This coincided with the launch of Charmin in Canada.
The Charmin bear is now mascot for Charmin Ultra Strong and Charmin Ultra Soft.
In 2010 the company changed the logo to add flecks of toilet paper to the bears in the logo. The "Charmin Bears" in a collective family of parents and children.
Initially just one family of brown bears, with Leonard the Bear accompanied by Molly, Bill, Amy and Dylan.
This was later split into distinct family of bears, 5 blue ones called the "Charmin Ultra Soft Family" and 5 red ones called the "Charmin Ultra Strong Family".
As of 2016, the Charmin Bear appeared in more than 70 commercials for Charmin products.
British rebrand to "Cushelle"
From February 2010, the product's British brand name was changed to Cushelle by manufacturer SCA. There is also a new mascot, a koala named Kenny. In the advertisements for Cushelle, they are voiced-over by Robert Webb.
Times Square Charmin restrooms
In 2006, Charmin opened up public restrooms in New York City's Times Square. The location is now a new Disney Store. The convenience of having clean restrooms in Times Square during the Christmas season was a novel idea.
Slogans
- Don't Squeeze the Charmin (1960s)
- Once it's gotcha, it's gotcha! (1980s)
- Ch-ch Choose Charmin. (1993-1997)
- Best for "Bear" Bottoms. (1997-2004)
- Cha-cha-cha Charmin. (1999-2007) (2013-present in Latin America)
- Less Is More! (2004-2006)
- Less is even more. (2006-2009)
- Look for it in the red/blue package. (2007-2010)
- Enjoy The Go. (2010-present)
Environmental impact
In February 2009, Greenpeace advised consumers not to use Charmin toilet paper stating that it is bad for the environment.
Another complaint by many consumers is that Charmin leaves pills behind after use.
German rebrand to Zewa
In 2008, Charmin was rebranded Zewa in Germany. There was no mascot in the commercials, but in the first Zewa commercial the Charmin bear was seen.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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