Andrex

Andrex was originally developed in 1942 by paper manufacturer St Andrew Mills Ltd., as a disposable handkerchief. Harrods department store in London sold the handkerchiefs exclusively. Before Andrex, brands such as Bronco and Izal produced products that were harsher. They were mainly sold through chemists and known as “shinies”.{{cite web|url=http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/189282/Superbrands-case-studies-Andrex|title=Superbrands case studies: Andrex|publisher=Brand Republic|access-date=11 March 2015}}

The name Andrex comes from St Andrew Mill, on St Andrews Road in Walthamstow, where the toilet tissue was first made.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} The concept of two ply luxury paper had been inspired by the facial tissues used by American women, as witnessed by the man who created the name Andrex, Ronald Keith Kent. It was the first two-ply tissue.

St Andrew Mills was taken-over by Bowater in 1955, and in 1956, Bowater formed a joint venture with the Scott Paper Company, Bowater-Scott, that specialized in tissue products, including Andrex.{{cite book|author1=R.P.T. Davenport-Hines|author2=Geoffrey Jones|title=Enterprise, Management and Innovation in British Business, 1914-80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0E-RAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA80|date=28 June 2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-77870-5|page=80}}

They are known for having a popular TV ad that features a labrador retriever puppy trailing a toilet paper roll through a house. However, the original idea in 1972 was for a young girl to run through a house trailing a roll of Andrex. The television regulators did not approve this as they felt it encouraged children to be wasteful. Bowater-Scott's Marketing Director, Raymond Dinkin decided to use a Labrador puppy instead. Since then there have been 130 different adverts featuring various puppies eponymously known as "the Andrex puppy".

In 1986, Bowater sold Bowater-Scott to Scott Paper, and in 1995, Kimberly-Clark purchased Scott Paper.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/18/business/kimberly-clark-to-buy-scott-paper-challenging-p-g.html|title=Kimberly-Clark to Buy Scott Paper, Challenging P.& G.|last=Collins|first=Glenn|date=18 July 1995|work=The New York Times|access-date=27 September 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

Andrex says that it marketed the first moist toilet paper in 1992.{{Citation|url=http://www.andrex.co.uk/brand-history/|title=Brand History|publisher=Andrex|quote=Andrex® are always trying to be a forefront of toilet tissue innovation, and in 1992 were the first to launch moist tissues.|access-date=11 March 2015}}

In 2004, Andrex replaced its advertising slogan “Soft, Strong and very very Long”, with “Tuggable, Huggable softness”, and changed to “Be Kind To Your Behind” in 2008.{{Cite web|url=http://www.adrants.com/2008/03/cottonelle-wants-to-be-kind-to-your.php|title=Cottonelle Wants to Be Kind to Your Behind|last=Hall|first=Steve|website=www.adrants.com|access-date=27 September 2019}} By 2015, it was using the slogans “Andrex clean” and “How Andrex do you feel?”{{Citation|url=http://www.andrex.co.uk/clean/|title=Andrex clean|publisher=Andrex|access-date=11 March 2015|archive-date=24 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024235946/https://www.andrex.co.uk/clean/|url-status=dead}}

In 2022, Andrex announced that they would be adding bowel cancer symptoms to their toilet roll packaging following campaigning from blogger and journalist Deborah James, who later died from the disease in June 2022. {{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/dame-deborah-james-campaign-andrex-bowel-cancer-symptoms-toilet-roll-packs-b1007502.html?amp|title=Deborah James prompts Andrex to add bowel cancer symptoms to toilet roll packs|publisher=Evening Standard|last=Al Mustaqeem|first=Syraat|date=21 June 2022|accessdate=16 July 2022}} Various supermarkets followed suit. {{cite web|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/asda-waitrose-tesco-morrisons-join-24329694.amp|title=Asda, Waitrose, Tesco and Morrisons join Aldi and M&S in making important update to toilet roll|work=The Independent|last=Shufflebotham|first=Bethan|date=27 June 2022|accessdate=28 November 2022}}

All Andrex mainstream is made in Northfleet. Factories in Flint and Barrow in Furness supplement production on the mainline product, along with the Puppies on a Roll, Aloe Vera and Quilts variations.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

• List of fictional dogs

{{Reflist|1}}

• {{Official website|http://www.andrexpuppy.co.uk}}

{{British Royal Warrant holders}}

Category:Kimberly-Clark brands

Category:British royal warrant holders

Category:Dog mascots

Category:British mascots

Category:Real-life animal mascots

Category:Mascots introduced in 1972

Category:Toilet paper

Category:1942 establishments in England

Category:British companies established in 1942