Noxzema
{{Short description|Brand of skin cleanser marketed by Unilever}}
{{Infobox brand
| name = Noxzema
| logo =
| image = File:Original_Noxzema_cobalt_blue_jar_2014-06-19_15-42.jpg
| introduced = {{Start date and age|1914}}
| type = Facial Products
| currentowner = Elida Beauty
| previousowners = {{ubl|Noxzema Chemical Company|Noxell Corporation|Lion Corporation|Procter & Gamble|Alberto-Culver}}|{{Unilever}}
| website = http://www.noxzema.com/
}}
Noxzema ({{IPAc-en|n|ɒ|k|ˈ|s|iː|m|ə}} {{respell|nok|SEE|mə}})[http://forvo.com/word/Noxzema/ forvo.com] Noxzema is an American brand of skin cleanser marketed by Elida Beauty. Since 1914,{{cite news
|newspaper=The New York Times
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/14/archives/1914-to-now-the-little-blue-jars-story.html
|title=1914 to Now: The Little Blue jar's Story
|author=Angela Taylor |date=April 14, 1972}} it was sold in a small cobalt blue jar; but is now sold in a blue plastic jar. Noxzema contains camphor, menthol, phenol and eucalyptus, among other ingredients. Originally developed as a sunburn remedy, it is a type of cold cream or vanishing cream (so named because it disappears after being left on for a few minutes) which is used as a facial cleanser and make-up remover.
It can also be used for soothing chapped, sunburned, or otherwise irritated skin; and for getting rid of acne and other blemishes (as it draws dirt out of pores when left on for a few minutes or more). Since the introduction of Noxzema, the brand name has appeared on shaving cream, razors, and skin-cleansing cloths.
The main product and its line extensions have been marketed by a series of companies: Noxzema Chemical Company, Noxell Corporation, Procter & Gamble, and Alberto-Culver (Unilever).
History
The original formula for Noxzema was invented by Dr. Francis J. Townsend{{cite news |newspaper=Baltimore Sun
|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2009-02-14-0902130142-story.html
|title=Old Building a Homely Piece of City History
|author=Jacques Kelly |date=February 14, 2009}} (1875-1945), a physician/druggist by 1900, in Snow Hill, Maryland; by 1910, in Berlin, Maryland; and by 1920, in Ocean City, Maryland.1900, 1910, 1920 U.S. Census Records The formula was called "Townsend R22" and referred to commonly as "no-eczema".{{cite book|author=Patrick Di Justo|title=This Is What You Just Put in Your Mouth?: From Eggnog to Beef Jerky, the Surprising Secrets of What's Inside Everyday Products|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CEhABAAAQBAJ&pg=PT229|date=3 February 2015|publisher=Crown/Archetype|isbn=978-0-8041-3989-2|pages=229–}} Dr. Townsend, who practiced near the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, prescribed it as a remedy, mainly to beach resort vacationers who were severely burned by ultraviolet sun rays.
Townsend later gave the formula to druggist George Avery Bunting (1870–1959), who for many years denied the transaction. In about 1917, Bunting began producing and selling "Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy", marketing the product as an alternative to the greasy, tallow-based medicating creams in use during the period. For the first 3 years, George A. Bunting and Elizabeth Buck mixed, heated and poured the product themselves. The name was changed to Noxzema, supposedly because a satisfied customer exclaimed, "Sure knocked my eczema!". An early slogan was "The miracle cream of Baltimore".
=Ownership=
Beginning in 1920, the cream was produced by Bunting. In 1926, Noxzema Chemical Company broke ground and built a small factory in Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of W. 32 St. & Falls Cliff Rd.The Anglo American 1938 Yearbook In 1926, N.C.C. applied for a trade-mark with the U.S. Patent Office.1926 Index of Patents Issued from the United States Patent Office By 1937, 15 million units were being sold yearly.Life, November 29, 1937.
By the 1940s, the product was being sold throughout the United States, and it continued to be produced by the Noxzema Chemical Company. Management moved to the founder's son in 1949.{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/06/20/archives/founders-son-to-head-noxzema.html |title=Founder's Son to Head Noxzema |date=June 20, 1949}} And, in 1966, the company was reorganized Noxell Corporation, but still under the ownership of the Bunting family.{{cite book |last1=Cross |first1=Mary |title=A Century of American Icons: 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th-Century Consumer Culture |date=2002 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-3133-1481-0 |access-date=September 4, 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/centuryofamerica00cros/page/142/ |pages=142–143}} Under a non-family member's leadership, the company "moved its headquarters to a building complex in Cockeysville, MD."{{cite news |newspaper= The New York Times |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/19/obituaries/norbert-witt-81-dies-a-maker-of-noxzema.html |title=Norbert Witt, 81, Dies; A Maker of Noxzema |date=July 19, 1990}}
In 1989 Procter & Gamble acquired the brand as part of the acquisition of Noxell. Alberto-Culver bought the rights to the brand in 2008 from Procter & Gamble{{cite news |newspaper= Advertising Age |url=https://adage.com/article/news/noxzema-finds-a-home-alberto-culver/130807 |title=Noxzema Finds a New Home With Alberto-Culver |date= September 8, 2008}} and operated the line of skin-care products{{cite news |newspaper= Advertising Age |url=https://adage.com/article/agency-news/alberto-culver-begin-review-creative-media-duties/141812|title=Alberto-Culver to Begin Review for Global Creative, Media Duties |first= Jeff |last= Neff |date=January 28, 2010}} until Alberto-Culver was acquired by Unilever in 2010.{{cite news |newspaper= Advertising Age| url=https://adage.com/article/news/unilever-agrees-acquire-alberto-culver-3-7-billion/146141 |title=Unilever Agrees to Acquire Alberto-Culver for $3.7 Billion |date=September 27, 2010}} In October 2014, the Noxzema brand in Greece changed its ownership from Procter & Gamble to a domestic company, Sarantis, for €8.7 million.{{cite news |title=Sarantis announced the acquisition of Noxzema |url=http://english.capital.gr/News.asp?id=2127288 |access-date=26 January 2015 |website= Capital.gr |date=9 October 2014}}
Advertising
This "knocks eczema" product, which says, "shaving cream" on the container, was advertised from 1967 to 1973 as a medicated shaving lotion with the phrase "Take it off, Take it all off"{{cite news |newspaper= The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/26/magazine/it-s-growing.html |title=It's Growing |quote= Amazonian Scandinavian blonde appearing on TV each time this guy shaved with Noxzema. "Take it off. Take it all off," she'd purr in Nordic tones | first= Hal |last= Rubenstein |date=September 26, 1993| others= Gunilla Knutsson| access-date= }} (referring to facial hair).{{cite web| url= https://vimeo.com/338696552 |year= 1965 |title= Noxzema Shave Cream TV Commercial| via= vimeo.com}}{{cite magazine| url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901013,00.html | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081214140157/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901013,00.html | url-status= dead | archive-date= December 14, 2008 |title= Advertising: The Copycats| magazine= Time| date= 11 July 1969| via= Time.com| publisher= |access-date= }} Earlier advertising, which had begun in the 1940s, via radio and print advertisements, was handled locally.{{cite news |newspaper= The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/01/28/archives/noxzema-account-expanded.html |title=Noxzema Account Expanded | first= Carl | last= Spielvogel |date=January 28, 1959}}
In 1998 Proctor & Gamble unveiled "a foray into so-called nontraditional media" as "a break from traditional Noxzema advertising" in order to "stimulate sales of Noxzema skin cream among women ages 21 and over."{{cite news |newspaper= The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/03/business/media-business-advertising-p-g-takes-most-unusual-tack-with-its-new-your-face.html |title=P.& G. takes a most unusual tack with its new, in-your-face ads |first= Stuart |last= Elliott |date=June 3, 1998}} In 1999 they introduced and advertised product line extensions.{{cite news |first= Mercedes M.| last= Cardona |newspaper= Advertising Age |url= https://adage.com/article/news/p-g-reclaims-noxzema-franchise-fitness-line-extension-significant-3-cleanser/62635 |title=P&G Reclaims Noxzema Franchise with Fitness | date= April 26, 1999 | access-date= June 3, 2021 |quote=Noxzema Skin Fitness}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.noxzema.com/}}
- [http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/fundraising/gifts/oncgift.html 1999 announcement of Bunting family gift] to Johns Hopkins University
- [http://forvo.com/word/noxzema/ Noxzema pronunciation]
{{Unilever}}