History
Kimberly-Clark has been making Huggies disposable diapers for infants since 1978. In 1984, the Depend products for adults were introduced, pioneering the retail incontinence category in the United States. Depend was originally test marketed as the Conform brand in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Green Bay, WI. The original products begun being made in 1983 and were liners, available in regular and extra absorbencies. They could be worn inside underwear or alone, and were held on by small elastic belts. In 1984, Depend Shields were added for slight incontinence in regular and extra absorbencies. These were intended for moderate to heavy bladder incontinence. Beginning in 1985, fitted briefs for heavy to complete bladder incontinence as well as bowel incontinence were added. The briefs were made in youth, small, medium and large. There were various sizes in terms of packaging as well for all three lines of products. The briefs had a green plastic cover while in the undergarments and shields the green plastic was covered with a thin cloth like cover. In 1987, the undergarments were made in both cloth like non-woven covers and plastic covers. The products were sold in large, cardboard boxes initially. The padding was originally similar to what had been used for disposable baby diapers like Huggies. In 1988, all Depend products began to use an Absorb-Lock core which turns to a gel when wet as baby diapers began using this as well. In 1992, Depend Briefs were made in two different absorbencies, regular and overnight. The sizes were revamped to youth/small, medium and large. In 1998, Depend added Pull Up Adult Disposable Underwear to their offerings. Initially, this was clothlike and had absorbency down in the middle and was not recommended for night-time use. They had two sizes, medium and large. In 2000, Depend Briefs went through a huge change. They began to be made in white with a very slight green tint. They were still made in regular and night-time absorbencies. Sizes remained the same. In 1998, 3 dimensional pull-on underwear were introduced and these completely replace adult diaper style 'briefs' that had tape tab closures. They offered consumer a product which fit and looked much more like regular underwear. In 2001, refastenable disposable underwear that was pull up style with a tearable area on each side of the brief and tapes to convert to a tape on disposable brief. These were cloth like but had absorbency all the way up the front and all the way in the back with similar protection and absorbency to the fitted brief that was plastic backed. The other Depend Underwear products became more absorbent in 2005. In 2002, the Depend Booster pad was added as a product to add absorbency to any depend product. That year, the Depend shields were phased out due to their other product, Poise pads, used for slight female incontinence. That year, the male guard was added for minor male incontinence. In 2005, the Depend Briefs were renamed. The regular absorbency continued while the overnight absorbency was now called "Maximum Protection". The product was originally unisex in style; in March 2009, Depend introduced gender-specifiAdvertising
For more than 20 years the principal spokesperson for the product was actress June Allyson, who was inspired to educate the public about incontinence because of her own mother's struggle with the problem. According to Kimberly-Clark, she "did more than any other public figure to encourage and persuade people with incontinence to lead fuller and more active lives." On March 30, 2009, Depend launched the largest integrated marketing campaign in brand history featuring TV, print, online, direct mail, in-store communication and public relations elements. The TV campaign, created by ad agency J. Walter Thompson, JWT, was directed by 2004 Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris. The product was originally unisex in style; in March 2009, Depend introduced gender-specifiIn popular culture
In the 1996 novel ''Infinite Jest'' by David Foster Wallace, each year has a corporate sponsor; most of the action takes place in year 8, the "Year of the Depend Adult Undergarment". In Lil Wayne's song "I'm Me" he raps "The only time I will depend is when I'm 70 years old" In Blink 182's ''Cheshire Cat (Blink-182 album), Cheshire Cat'' album, one of the songs is titled "Depends". American comedian Joan Rivers saw Depend as good material for comedy, and would feign jealousy at June Allyson for being the star of Depend commercials, as in "Hi, I'm June Allyson and right now I'm taking a dump." A ''Saturday Night Live'' parody paid homage to Depend in a commercial for a similar adult undergarment they called "Oops! I Crapped My Pants". In the ''Homestar Runner'' game ''Peasant's Quest'', the character Rather Dashing will wish he had "Depeasant adult undergarments" when facing Trogdor the Burninator. Lisa Rinna's success from the campaign is referenced multiple times on ''The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'', where Rinna is a cast member. In 2009, during an NHL game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals, a Capitals fan was dressed up as an astronaut. Commentator Pierre McGuire speculated that since he has difficulty going to the bathroom in the suit that he might be wearing Depend.Archived aReferences
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.depend.com, Depend - official website Underwear brands Kimberly-Clark brands Diaper brands Products introduced in 1984