Lifebuoy (soap)

Lifebuoy is a brand of soap containing phenol marketed originally by Lever Brothers in England in 1895.

History

Although Lifebuoy is no longer produced in the US and UK, it is still being mass produced by Unilever in Cyprus for the UK, EU, US and Brazil markets, as well as in Trinidad and Tobago for the Caribbean market. Unilever in Cyprus and Trinidad and Tobago is manufacturing the original Red Lifebuoy Soap with carbolic acid. In other markets, including South and South East Asia, the global brand of Lifebuoy Soap has been updated to use red and other colours with ‘modern’ aromas.

Catchphrases

When the Philadelphia Phillies played at the Baker Bowl during the 1920s, an outfield wall advertisement for Lifebuoy stated, "The Phillies use Lifebuoy". One night a vandal sneaked in and added to the ad, "And they still stink". Variations of the joke were also employed by detractors of other losing teams.

The term "B.O.", short for "body odor", is often thought to have been invented by Lifebuoy for an advertising campaign. However, the term "B.O." was actually coined by a company that made deodorant for women called Odo-Ro-No in 1919. Lifebuoy made the term famous, however. The Lifebuoy radio ad, parodied by several Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes cartoons, used a foghorn-type sound to create the "B.O."...
Read More