Thread by @NotechAna

In my 6 months on Twitter I’ve seen several threads exposing “evil marketers” who create campaigns aimed at getting better access to customers' wallets.

But not all campaigns are evil.

Here are 3 examples of marketers changing the world for better.

1. Douglas Smith was close to a panic attack. He’s just bought this company that sold a promising product but the problem was — it turned out, nobody wanted it. It was used by only 5% of Americans.

Mr. Smith decided it was time for extreme measures – and hired Claude Hopkins to make the other 95% of the population use...

A TOOTHPASTE

That’s what a company Mr.Smith had bought — Pepsodent — was manufacturing. It might sound weid but in 1920s almost no one brushed teeth

Oral hygiene was nonexistent. A person who contributed a lot to our habbit of brushing teeth twice/day was C. Hopkins
"A father" of ads did not let Mr Smith down: he came up with a campaign with a key message: brushing teeth is a great inexpensive way to keep your smile bright.

In 12 months Pepsodent could not keep up with demand. And in 10 years 65% of the US population were brushing teeth twice a day.

2.
Coca Cola did not invent Santa’s look but it definitely changed it for the better.
Before 1931 Santa was depicted a lot more like that of the 3rd-century bishop Sant Nicolaus.

To boost sales of a soft drink during the low season Coca Cola hired Haddon Sundblom to create a compelling campaign that will send a friendly, family-centered message with a tint of a holiday spirit.

In a couple of weeks a new image of Santa was covering all the billboards and brought us a new experience of a warm, happy character with human features, including rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes and laughter lines.

3. Have you ever thought about why “deodorant” is called this way?
The name derives from the product that popularised the idea of getting rid of unpleasant bodily odors. The brand was initially “Odour? Oh no!” then was shortened to “Odorono” .

Before Odorono the idea of using chemicals to preserve a clean smell of the body had been ridiculous: men were expected to be smelly (“mucky smell” and ladies were not allowed to discuss this topic in public.

In 919 James Young, a marketer, came up with a revolutionary campaign

that he distributed through the newspapers and magazines.
The publication caused such a scandal that every single copy of the journal it was published in, were bought out in minutes.
The effect? ladies started discussing topic in public, which led to a new social norm.

Indeed, marketing almost always has a goal of increasing sales.

But it doesn’t stop marketers from bringing revolutionary changes to our lives.

Here’s an ad I’ve stumbled upon recently. Nothing ground-breaking — but it’ll still make you smile (hopefully). 😁