Thread by @ccmarce_writes

In the early 1900s women were still constrained by Victorian-era, conservative beauty standards.

Dyeing your hair in particular was seen as a practice done only by “loose women” and s*x workers, not respectable society ladies.

But one marketing campaign helped change that.
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In the 1950s Clairol was launching a new product. A way to dye your own hair at home in just one step.

Previously women were so uncomfortable with letting it be known they were dyeing their hair, they’d book hair appts at salons under fake names or wear disguises.

So the primary challenge Clairol faced was overcoming this stigma.

The company enlisted the help of an advertising agency, which handed off the account to its only female copywriter, Shirley Polykoff.

And luckily she had personal experience to draw inspiration from.

Shirley was a blonde and extremely proud of that attribute. She secretly lightened her hair on a few occasions when she noticed it was getting darker.

So she was incredibly embarrassed when her MIL privately asked Shirley’s husband if her hair color was *really* natural.

Based on that experience and her familiarity with women consumers of the era, Shirley came up with the infamous “Does she...or doesn’t she” campaign.

The implication was that Clairol hair dye was so natural looking, no one would ever be able to tell that you used it.

The campaign also focused on employing the right visuals to address customer concerns.

Wholesome looking, primarily blonde women were used as models. Many times they were depicted as mothers, standing next to children with similarly colored hair.

Interestingly enough, some male publishing execs initially wouldn't run ads bc they viewed “Does she...or doesn’t she” as being suggestive.

Shirley convinced them to run it by conducting a poll of women that showed none of them found the slogan to be sexual or off-color at all.

It was a wild success.

Sales increased x4. Hair dye grew in popularity until over half of American women were consumers.

And the lasting impact remains seen. Some estimate that 60-75% of women worldwide dye their hair today. Clairol maintains a 50% chunk of industry sales.

If you're interested in learning more about Shirley, who became the agency's first female EVP and won 1967 Advertising Woman of the Year, you can read her obit here. nytimes.com/1998/06/08/nyr…
Other sources: voguebusiness.com/beauty/millenn…
elizabethmariepolak.wordpress.com/2020/01/13/the…

And if you enjoy reading about interesting marketing campaigns, past and present, please follow me or check out my newsletter. chantellemarcelle.com/marketing-news…