![(King1893NYC) pg985 ENOCH MORGAN'S SONS COMPANY, 439 WEST STREET, CORNER OF BANK STREET](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/%28King1893NYC%29_pg985_ENOCH_MORGAN%27S_SONS_COMPANY%2C_439_WEST_STREET%2C_CORNER_OF_BANK_STREET.jpg)
Sapolio was a brand of soap noted for its advertising, led by
Artemas Ward
Artemas Ward (November 26, 1727 – October 28, 1800) was an American major general in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts. He was considered an effective political leader, President John Adams describing him as ...
from 1883–1908.
Bret Harte
Bret Harte (; born Francis Brett Hart; August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush.
In a caree ...
wrote jingles for the brand, and the sales force also included
King Camp Gillette
King Camp Gillette (January 5, 1855 – July 9, 1932) was an American businessman who invented a bestselling version of the safety razor. Gillette's innovation was the thin, inexpensive, disposable blade of stamped steel. Gillette is often err ...
, who went on to create the
Gillette safety razor and the
razor and blades business model
The razor and blades business model is a business model in which one item is sold at a low price (or given away for free) in order to increase sales of a complementary good, such as consumable supplies. It is different from loss leader marketing ...
. ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine described Sapolio as "probably the world's best-advertised product" in its heyday.
Sapolio was manufactured by Enoch Morgan's Sons Co. from 1869, and named by the family doctor.
James Kenneth Fraser, a copywriter and
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
engineering student, wrote in 1900 about the effectiveness of the soap in ''The Doctor's Lament:''
Decline and disappearance
After decades of maintaining some of the best known advertising in the U.S., Sapolio's owners decided that their position was sufficiently insurmountable as to let them discontinue most advertising. Despite the brand's overwhelming market position, it was overtaken by competitors within a few years and disappeared from the market before World War II.
Revival
After the disappearance of the brand Sapolio, the name remained under the domain of Enoch Morgan's Sons Co. until after some negotiations, the brand was acquired by
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
, but they did not decide to relaunch the product until a lot of years later, leaving the brand Sapolio completely abandoned.
In 1997, the Sapolio brand was acquired by the Peruvian company
Intradevco Industrial SA, who bought it from
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
. Intradevco owns the Sapolio brand in more than 80 countries. The Sapolio brand is now used to market various cleaning products in Peru and Chile.
The Intradevco company also bought its Chilean counterpart
Klenzo, which held the Sapolio patent in Chile.
In 2019, the
Alicorp
Alicorp is the largest Peruvian consumer goods company, with operations in South America.
History
The company now known as Alicorp was started in 1956 as Industrias Teodoro Aldude and Anderson, Clayton & Co. as an oil and soap manufacturer in ...
company bought the rights of the Intradevco company, which owns Sapolio, making it its parent company.
References in popular culture
*In the children's book, ''
The Hundred Dresses'', the main character wonders if Wanda uses Sapolio to get her forehead to shine.
*Confidence man
Soapy Smith
Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II (November 2, 1860 – July 8, 1898) was an American con artist and gangster in the American frontier.
Smith operated confidence schemes across the Western United States, and had a large hand in organized crim ...
was often called ''Sapolio Smith'' by the
Rocky Mountain News
The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...
.
*In the Ed Smalle, Jerry Macy version of ''
Singing in the Bathtub
"Singing in the Bathtub" is a song written in 1929 by Michael H. Cleary, with lyrics by Herb Magidson and Ned Washington for the film ''The Show of Shows''. ''The Show of Shows'' was Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', ...
'' (1930) Sapolio is used as a pun "I Sapolio you think you're smart."
*In Robert Heinlein's ''
To Sail Beyond the Sunset
''To Sail Beyond the Sunset'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1987. It was the last novel published before his death in 1988. The title is taken from the poem "Ulysses", by Alfred Tennyson. The stanz ...
'', Brian Smith (circa 1906) asks his wife "Mo, the papers say that
food prices
Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food.
Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...
are up even though the farmers are squawking. And I'm certain that this bigger house is costing you more to run, if only in electricity, gas and Sapolio. How much more each month do you need?"
*In the book, ''60 years with Men and Machines'', by
Fred H. Colvin
Fred Herbert Colvin (1867–1965) was an American machinist, technical journalist, author, and editor. He wrote, co-wrote, edited, or co-edited many periodical articles, handbooks, and textbooks related to engineering, machining, and manufacturing. ...
, (pages 122 - 123) references are made to the use of Sapolio as an abrasive in the manufacture of automobile engines, when the required fine lapping was performed by hand labor.
*In the 1905 novel, ''
The House of Mirth
''The House of Mirth'' is a 1905 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It tells the story of Lily Bart, a well-born but impoverished woman belonging to New York City's high society around the end of the 19th century. Wharton creates a portrait ...
'', by Edith Wharton, (Book I - Chapter IX) a reference is made to "the mingled odour of sapolio and furniture-polish".
See also
*
List of cleaning products
This is a list of cleaning products and agents. Cleaning agents are substances (usually liquids, powders, sprays, or granules) used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, bad smells, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include hea ...
*
Alicorp
Alicorp is the largest Peruvian consumer goods company, with operations in South America.
History
The company now known as Alicorp was started in 1956 as Industrias Teodoro Aldude and Anderson, Clayton & Co. as an oil and soap manufacturer in ...
References
External links
*
*
*
A History of Advertising through Sapolio Soap Ads-Mesugo Design
Soap brands
{{Product-stub