Marketing fun

It’s awesome when manufacturer’s products clearly show that the product was aimed at a particular group. Especially when that group is women!!! I can’t describe the feeling I get, knowing that the companies were thinking of ME when they made the product.

Today we are going to be looking at bath products. Like soaps or shampoos or face washes. Aside from the product itself, I like to look at a few things. First, bottle design. Second, the little blurb at the back that makes you want to buy it so baddd. (I also like to look at the french words, but that’s for another day.) But seriously, though. We are going to be looking at how these companies market these products so that women will buy them. 

Ok. Jar/bottle design. Out with the old and in with the new! Remember when Vaseline was in this CRUMMY old jar? Right now sleek and streamlined is in! Also curved. Vaseline is not the only example. Bottles are now more streamlined and ergonomically shaped, sometimes with grips for easier handling, Clear bottles for colored and clear products, as you can see from Bain Mousse here (note that Bain  Mousse also has the grips for easy handling). White and opaque bottles for uncolored products, as Vaseline shows us. (Actually, it’s green… but the color is pretty light anyway.) 
The colored and opaque bottles have to work especially hard to fulfill their duty in making the overall shape of the bottle irresistible. But it’s great that we no longer have to handle these ugly, awkward jars. 

The exception when it comes to design is “prescription-strength” products. Those are ok the way they are because they have to look as if they came from the prescription counter at the drugstore. With a list of active ingredients (3% zinc, etc etc) in the back.

Next: the blurb on the back. I love reading the blurbs. Many of them are just plain funny with a few attempts to seduct your skin. Our first example is Softsoap Pomegranate and Mango moisturizing body wash with moisture beads. 

Invigorate your body and mind with Softsoap Brand Pomegranate & Mango Moisturizing body wash. Enriched with natural extracts of Pomegranate and mango, this moisture-bead formula provides a healthy clean you can feel, while its crisp, exotic fragrance will leave you energized and ready to take on the world.

What’s selling this product? The bottle has a very sleek design – round in the middle and tapered off near the top and bottom. The bottle is clear to show the red color of the wash and the moisture beads. 5 out of 5 stars for packaging. But according to the back, its REAL selling points are its natural extracts (because women love hearing the word “natural” in this scary world of chemicals and fakeness) and its moisture-bead formula. I’m assuming the beads are supposed to grind away grime. I don’t feel a difference. Finally, this body wash will prepare you to take on the world. 

Clairol Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo

With a fusion of orchid & coconut milk. 

Let me soak it to you

Repeat after me: I’m so quenched.

It’s time to take every strand off dry land. Replenish your pretty, parched head with my formula fused with essential moisturizers and orchid & coconut milk. It leaves hair silky and supple. Want more moisturizer where I come from? Seek my happily hydrated conditioner.

Did someone say something?

I’m not even going to say much about the bottle, beyond it being interestingly asymmetrical and painful when dropped on toes. No. What is unique is the blurb. First of all, it’s the shampoo SPEAKING to you. Not “blah blah blah lotion does blah blah to blah blah.” It cries out, “Use me! Want me! I can do so much for you!” and in the same breath URGES you to consider buying its conditioner so it can have a friend. Complete with disturbing animations of shampoo bottles with legs and arms who talk to each other after you’ve gone to bed. Also notice the use of alliteration. Pretty, Parched. Formula, Fused. Silky, Supple. Happily, Hydrated. That’s catchy, all right. The poetic metaphor of your hair on dry land is a nice touch. 

We don’t need to look too far for this product’s selling points. The manufacturer has used italics and bolding (and the italics haven’t shown up because of this theme I’m using). So we already know that it’s “fused with essential moisturizers” and “orchid & coconut milk” and leaves your hair supple.

The next product is a facial cleanser. I first heard of Garnier a couple of years back.  Back then Sarah Jessica Parker still had that  bump on her chin. Either it’s been airbrushed out or she removed it surgically. 

Garnier Nutristioniste nutrition + dermatology

Nutri-Pure detoxifying gel cleanser, oil-free

Gently detoxifies, leaving skin deeply clean and pure. 

Cleanser with purifying “dermatological-nutrients*” gently detoxifies, leaves skin clean and pure. 

Is it right for me? Nutri-Pure is right for you if you want to gently detoxify without drying. 

How is it different? Garnier [insert long name here] is our 1st detoxifying cleanser with an unique combination of “dermatological-nutrients.”

Vitamin E + Grape Extract – antioxidant to help detoxify.

Vitamin B5 – infuses skin with moisture to prevent over-drying.

Green Leaf Extract – naturally soothes and refreshes. 

Developed by Garnier in collaboration with dermatologists and nutritionists. 

*Ingredient developed exclusively by Garnier to work on skin’s outer layer.

Garnier always makes their product containers a bright green. Trademark.

Their selling point is clearly the “dermatological nutrients.” Besides the Vitamin B5/grape extracts they put in every product. It’s a unique combination all right. And Garnier works closely with dermatologists and nutritionists to formulate the lotions and washes and shampoos that will make you beautiful. With Sarah Jessica Parker as  guinea pig/laboratory rat, who can go wrong?

And finally, the Body Wash that has it all. 

Dove Beauty Body Wash for sensitive skin

Moisturizing cream, unscented. Skin pH balanced.

The all-important checklist for sensitive skin is a long one, but Dove has gotten it all into this bottle:

True mildness,

Soap-free cleansers,

Neutral fragrance,

Dermatologist-tested,

Hypo-allergenic formula,

And last but not least, gentle as it can be.

With Dove 1/4 moisturizing cream, it’s 24 oz of pure care.

Dove is simple as far as bottle design. It’s all white, like the product inside. It’s also tapered like Softsoap, only more dramatically. I mean, just look at the lines! The LINES! Also has an interesting cap.

The interesting thing about the blurb is that Dove notes that sensitive skin has an “all-important” checklist. Then claims to fulfill all of them. It lists what the product has – and double-spaces for emphasis. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. (The Garnier thing… I couldn’t adjust the spacing. The Garnier gel cleanser’s blurb is NOT double-spaced though it looks that way.) Also note the last line: “24 oz of pure care.” Dove implies that by buying and using this product, your skin will appreciate what you have done. The quality of care? “Pure.” 

(I like Dove’s body washes; however, not very impressed with their shampoos.)

That’s all … for now! I will be posting more at my leisure. Enjoy!