The fundamentals laws of advertising are such according to the Federal Trade commission:
Claims in advertisements must be truthful, cannot be deceptive or unfair, and must be evidence-based.
Companies must support their advertising claims with solid proof. This is especially true for businesses that market food, over-the-counter drugs, dietary supplements, contact lenses, and other health-related products.
Now there are more but in relation to todays topic only these matter.
Listerine is a product used by millions many often using it up to 8 times a week to keep their breath minty fresh. However the question is in this -- Why use Listerine? Why does that product help in keeping your breath minty fresh? and the straight answer is -- Because you were told so.
History of the Product
Now to start things off, Listerine is majorly marketed as a mouthwash/ mouth rinse but also doubles as a floor cleaner which was its initial offering to the market which ended in drastic terms.
Its true Listerine was a floor cleaner but due to the overly crowded market and induced brand loyalty they decided to shift their attention to something else -------- A mouthwash.
It is highly debated if any new changes were made to the formula or if the same substance being sold as a floor cleaner is now being used as a mouthwash.
So profits declined, no one wanted to buy the Listerine floor cleaner (which went by a different name back then) then the company pivoted to Listerine the mouthwash.
Advertising
The second phase of Listerine comes when they begin their marketing for their new mouthwash and it reaches borderline illegal.
Marketing Halitosis
They ran a very successful marketing campaign in the 1920's where they coined the term halitosis and sales went through the roofs. This is an actual thing mentioned in their website. They have even placed it in a way which shows that there was a direct relation between them.
Now, Listerine did not invent bad Breath but they did use it as a way to boost their sales and exploited the public's social anxieties with advertisements which basically popularized the fear of bad breath and societal rejection. This was largely due to adverts like these:
A lot of companies were offering the emerging middle classes ways to cater to their social anxieties. Listerine ran advertisements in many papers talking about the sad, unmarried Edna, who remained single as she watched her friends getting married. It’s not that she wasn’t a great gal! It’s just, she had this condition.
Impact
Legal
So what was the impact was Listerine touched legally for balefully promoting their product with the establishment of halitosis and then claiming that their product cures it?
No because technically Halitosis is not a scientifically proven disease and hence the laws don't apply to it. The law states that the advertisement must be truthful and as far as the law is concerned Listerine marketing was truthful because it did cure a disease which didn't exist.
Societal
perhaps the biggest effect wa the societal one. Halitosis became a very huge thing, people started believing that they have bad breath and they started believing listerine was the cure. This kind of marketing on the basis was revolutionary and has not been replicated at the level of listerine's until now.
After a century of such advertisements Listerine stopped but the idea of bad breath and its cure were both embedded for generations to come and up until now Listerine is almost universally used at a rate which is quite astronomical.
Sources
Clark, Laura. “How Halitosis Became a Medical Condition With a ‘Cure.’” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 29 Jan. 2015, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/marketing-campaign-invented-halitosis-180954082/.
team, Listerine. “Dr. Joseph Lister:The Man Who Fought Germs.” Mouthwash – Plaque – Bad Breath – Oral Hygiene | LISTERINE®, Listerine, www.listerine.co.uk/about.
Fine, Daniel. “Listerine: Past, Present and Future – A Test of Thyme.” Journal of Dentistry, Elsevier, 9 July 2010, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300571210700038?via%3Dihub.
Pochtler, Antonella Mei. “U.S.: Usage Frequency of Listerine Cool Mint (Blue) Mouthwash / Dental Rinse within 7 Days 2017 | Statistic.” Statista, Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/289639/usage-frequency-of-listerine-cool-mint-blue-mouthwash-dental-rinse-in-the-us/.
Government, The. “Advertising and Marketing.” Federal Trade Commission, United States of America, www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/advertising-and-marketing.
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