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P&G's dirty little secret about Ivory soap

By JOHN NOLAN
The Associated Press

AP An original bar of Ivory soap and one in its original wrapper at Procter & Gamble archives in Cincinnati.

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The company, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary, has used the slogan "It floats" to promote Ivory since the 1800s. The earliest P&G advertising also emphasized Ivory's buoyancy, along with the long-standing claim that the bar soap is "99 and 44/100ths percent pure."

Although the Cincinnati company acknowledged the soap floats because P&G whips air into it, it long has attributed that to a production mistake.

But an 1863 notebook entry by P&G chemist James Gamble may set the record straight, said Ed Rider, the P&G archivist who found the document.

"I made floating soap today," Gamble wrote. "I think we'll make all of our stock that way."

Gamble, son of P&G co-founder James Gamble, previously had studied with another chemist who knew how to make soap float, Rider discovered.

The company is disclosing the new information in a book on the history of P&G, the consumer-products giant also known for Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste. The book, "Rising Tide," is due in stores July 8, Rider said.

Ivory became the first blockbuster brand for P&G, a soap and candle company established in 1837.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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