Barbasol is an American brand of
shaving cream
Shaving cream or shave cream is a category of cream cosmetics used for shaving preparation. The purpose of shaving cream is to soften the hair by providing lubrication.
Different types of shaving creams include aerosol shaving cream (also kn ...
,
aftershave, and disposable
razor
A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors.
While the razor has been in existence since bef ...
s created by
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
Professor Frank Shields in 1919 in
Indianapolis. It is currently owned by
Perio, Inc.
Invention
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
Professor Frank Shields set out to create a product that would provide for a less irritating shave. In 1919, he succeeded with the invention of Barbasol – a shaving cream that did not have to be worked into a lather. The original formula was a thick lotion and is most closely related to the modern Barbasol Non-Aerosol Therapeutic Shave Cream.
Brand history
Napco Corporation
Barbasol was first manufactured under the Napco Corporation name, a company Frank Shields started before inventing Barbasol. After the shaving cream sales increased, they outgrew Napco, and The Barbasol Company was created.
The Barbasol Company
Frank Shields established The Barbasol Company in 1920, which owned the brand for 42 years. In the mid-1950s, design engineer Robert P. Kaplan of Rochester, NY invented and patented the first aerosol shaving cream can, and the Barbasol Company changed the formula from the thick cream in a tube to the soft, fluffy foam familiar in the aerosol cans today. The can design mimicked a
barber's pole
A barber's pole is a type of sign used by barbers to signify the place or shop where they perform their craft. The trade sign is, by a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, a staff or pole with a helix of colored stripes (often red and wh ...
, and is still the
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
design used today.
Pfizer
In 1962,
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
bought The Barbasol Company and brought Barbasol into the portfolio. During this time, they developed many additional versions of Barbasol to complement the original formulation, including Soothing
Aloe, Skin Conditioner, Sensitive Skin, Extra Protection, Cool
Menthol and Lemon Lime.
As gels became popular, Pfizer created gel versions of Barbasol in the Original, Soothing Aloe, Sensitive Skin, and Extra Protection varieties.
In the 1980s, Pfizer made Barbasol Glide Stick, a deodorant.
By the 1990s, Barbasol
brand equity had diminished. Sales had slowed. Pfizer, primarily a
pharmaceutical company
The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate sympto ...
, looked to sell the brand.
Perio, Inc.
![Perio Inc](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Perio_Inc._%28Dublin%2C_Ohio%29_-_headquarters.jpg)
Perio, Inc., based in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, bought the Barbasol brand from Pfizer in 2001 and has sought to revitalize it. They consolidated the Barbasol line to Original, Soothing Aloe, and Skin Conditioner, and added Pacific Rush.
A non-aerosol cream that simulated the original product was created in 2003, but it was reformulated to the Barbasol Non-Aerosol Therapeutic Shave Cream in 2006 (Pfizer also had a similar simulation of the original Barbasol cream, but discontinued it in 1999).
Later, Barbasol released Sensitive Skin, Mountain Blast (a new fragrance), and Arctic Chill (menthol) to its line of shaving creams. Several
aftershave products have been introduced under the Barbasol
brand name
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
. Still later, Barbasol introduced disposable razors in twin-blade, three-blade, and six-blade versions.
Barbasol's market share continues to grow, with one in four men now using it.
Advertising
Early advertising
Barbasol became a very popular shaving cream after its introduction. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, many print
advertisements
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
were used to support its growth. Many of the print ads featured men and women in situations that would be considered
risqué for their time.
The company also used several famous spokesmen throughout the years, including actor
Douglas Fairbanks Jr., star baseball players
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
and
Rogers Hornsby
Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 193 ...
, as well as football legend
Knute Rockne.
In 1938, Barbasol sponsored a car in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, and painted it to look like a tube of the cream. Driven by
George Bailey, the car made it to lap 166 of 200 before suffering clutch problems. The following year, the Barbasol car finished in tenth place. The team got involved as a sponsor in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
in the late 1990s, sponsoring Dick Bown's team and drivers Chuck and Jim Bown, Jim Sauter, and Greg Biffle in eleven races in 1996, then going to
Akins Motorsports
Akins Motorsports, formerly Akins-Sutton Motorsports was a NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is near Charlotte. The team was formed in 1992 by Brad Akins, owner of several car dealerships in Georgia and team pit crew member, ...
and drivers
Glenn Allen Jr. and
Elton Sawyer
Elton Everett Sawyer (born November 5, 1959) is a former NASCAR driver. He is married to former NASCAR driver Patty Moise. Sawyer is currently the Vice President, Officiating and Technical Inspection of NASCAR.
Career Start
Sawyer began his caree ...
starting in 1997.
The tagline throughout this time was "No brush, no lather, no rub in."
Singin' Sam, the Barbasol Man
One of the most
nostalgic
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric wo ...
figures in Barbasol's history was
Singin' Sam the Barbasol Man, whose real name was Harry Frankel.
Frankel got his start as a
vaudevillian
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
, and eventually became the spokesperson for a
lawnmower
A lawn mower (also known as a mower, grass cutter or lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, but g ...
company and began broadcasting out of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. The Barbasol Company soon heard him and, in 1931, signed him on as Singin' Sam the Barbasol Man, where he made famous the Barbasol
jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
, "Barbasol, Barbasol ... No brush, no lather, no rub-in ... Wet your
razor
A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors.
While the razor has been in existence since bef ...
, then begin."
Advertising since 2001
Barbasol's advertising since 2001 is not as suggestive as its 1920s counterparts. Many television ads from 2001 to 2009 have featured a close-call situation, followed by one person saying "Close shave!" and another person responding with "Better buy Barbasol!" The "close shave" double entendre has been replaced with the more patriotic tagline "Close Shave America, Close Shave Barbasol." (This can be heard, for example, on the Fred Thompson Show radio podcast). The related advertising relies less on tongue-in-cheek humor and associates the brand more with a warm, homey feeling.
In February 2012, Barbasol signed a five-year agreement with
Major League Soccer side
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
that would see the brand become the club's shirt sponsor.
Barbasol is a main sponsor of radio network
Westwood One
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...
, with its radio commercials (most of which featured former
NFL quarterback
Boomer Esiason
Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (; born April 17, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was selected in the ...
) being heard during sporting events broadcast on Westwood One.
The Barbasol Championship is a
professional golf
For information about professional golf see:
*Professional golfer, which describes the various branches of the profession.
*Professional golf tours, which covers elite professional competitive golf and links to more detailed articles about each tou ...
tournament scheduled that was played for the first time on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
in 2015 as an alternative event for the
2015 Open Championship
The 2015 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 144th Open Championship, held from 16 to 20 July at the Old Course at St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. It was the 29th Open Championship played at the course and Zach Johnson ...
. The tournament is played on the Grand National course of the
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in
Opelika,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
.
Barbasol has created a
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
presence, including a
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
-based sweepstakes.
In the 1993 sci-fi feature film ''
Jurassic Park'', an
embryo cryopreservation container is hidden in a modified Barbasol can. The brand was used to market the 2015 sequel ''
Jurassic World''. Special dinosaur-themed cans were released, along with a promotion offering a trip to an
archaeological excavation in Wyoming.
In popular culture
Barbasol's longevity in the American marketplace has made it an unmistakable icon for shaving. It is often the representative for a can of shaving cream, simply for its recognizable packaging, and can be seen in such movies as ''
Jurassic Park'', ''
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' is a 1982 American neo-noir mystery comedy film directed, co-written by, and co-starring Carl Reiner and co-written by and starring Steve Martin. Co-starring Rachel Ward, the film is both a parody of and a homage to ...
'', and ''
Evan Almighty
''Evan Almighty'' is a 2007 American comedy film, and a spin-off of ''Bruce Almighty'' (2003). The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, based on the characters created by Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe from the original fi ...
''.
* In the 1950s
musical ''
Guys and Dolls
''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...
'', the character Benny Southstreet sings, "When a lazy slob takes a goody steady job, And he smells from
Vitalis and Barbasol..." as a metaphor for a man cleaning himself up to retain a woman's affections.
* A can of Barbasol shaving foam plays a central role in the 1993 science fiction film ''Jurassic Park''. The Barbasol can, which is actually a disguised portable
embryo container, is handed over to Dennis Nedry (played by
Wayne Knight
Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played Newman on '' Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001). He also voiced Igor on ''Toonsylvania'' (1998 ...
) by Ingen's rival company Biosyn head Dodgson to help him carry stolen dinosaur embryos to a ship waiting at the docks. Nedry checks the can, which has a bottom that can be screwed off, and real shaving cream if customs officials ask questions. While attempting to leave Jurassic Park with the stolen embryos, Nedry becomes lost in a rainstorm, crashes his Jeep and is attacked and killed by a ''
Dilophosaurus
''Dilophosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 193 million years ago. Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserve ...
''. The can falls and becomes buried in mud.
* In the 1998 musical satire, ''
Reefer Madness
''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodramat ...
'', the character Mr. Poppy sings, "Sometimes men would come to call who stank of sin and Barbasol, they'd ask kids if they felt at all like having themselves a few kicks!" in reference to the product's popularity during the 1930s, in which the show is set.
* The 2008 ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' winner
David Cook David Cook may refer to:
Entertainment
* David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR
* David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol''
* David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...
's second single was "
Bar-ba-sol
"Come Back to Me" is the second official single released from ''American Idol'' season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, ''David Cook'' (2008). It was released as a joint double-A single with " Bar-ba-sol".
Song information
" ...
".
North American distribution
Barbasol is distributed throughout North America.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official website
Shaving cream brands
Male grooming brands