PRESS RELEASE: Persil
Written: Friday 17th April, 2009
SOAP OPERA
NEWS COPY -- WITH PICTURES
Persil washing powder is celebrating its 100th birthday - after cleaning a staggering 16 BILLION wash loads since its launch in 1909.
The product revoluntionised housework because its unique 'oxygenating' bubbles removed dirty and grime from laundry without the need for vigorous scrubbing.
It is now estimated the brand - named after its two key ingredients, perborate and silicate - cleans five million, or one in three, of the wash loads in Britain every day.
Persil has carried the royal crest of approval of since the 1930s and is still used by the Royal family.
And in her 2001 autobiography Learning To Fly, Victoria Beckham proudly declared: ''I want to be as famous as Persil''.
Assunta Faiello, Persil brand manager at Unilever, said: ''It is great to be able to see how Persil has really stood the test of time over the past century, helping to transform the way families do their washing and becoming a much-loved household staple.
''As the first commercially available detergent, it had a big impact on women's lives in the early years; by 1920s, women no longer had to spend a whole day washing clothes by hand and it has continued to afford families more time ever since.
''Just as British society has changed beyond recognition over the last century, with women going out to work, fathers becoming more involved in housework.
''And with the introduction of new technology, Persil too has evolved dramatically and this can be seen in everything from our advertising to our packs to our products.''
''Persil's success has a great deal to do with its rich heritage, with roots in Warrington where it was originally made and Port Sunlight where it is still made today.
''It's incredible to see how much laundry has changed over the last century and we look forward to seeing how Persil evolves over another 100 years.''
Persil began life as Amazing Oxygen Washer and was the first washing powder to contain a 'self-acting' oxygenating agent which produced millions of bubbles.
It was the first to advertise in print in 1905 - and was the first to appear on television, as Persil, in 1955.
The first packs of Persil weighed about half a pound and were sold at threepence hapenny each.
It's popularity soon grew and in 1913 King George V became the first royal to visit the Warrington factory, which was then a major employer in the town.
By the 1920s it had played a major role in bringing wash day to an end as women no longer had to spend a full day arduously washing clothes by hand.
As sales boomed a 'Persil caravan' toured the country with expert demonstrators teaching women learn how to best wash clothes with the new, modern powder, which carried the slogan 'Persil Does The Work'.
Early advertising continued to focus on mums, featuring slogans such as 'one mum knows, and it shows'.
And in 1955 it became the first laundry detergent to show a man doing the washing with the strapline 'What is a mum?' on television and cinema with actor Arthur Lucan playing the role of Old Mother Riley.
In the 1980s Persil was the first laundry detergent to feature a man doing the washing in their advertising and in 1987 a Persil ad reflected the youth of the time featuring a skin-head doing his own washing.
In more recent years it has cropped up on supermarket shelves in an array of gels, tablets and liquids.
Yesterday life-long Persil user Kitty Harris, aged 100, from Glasgow said: ''I remember it making a big change to our lives; my mother no longer had to spend every Monday scrubbing our clothes and bedding by hand, Persil became a household staple.''
Now experts estimate that 30 per cent of the nation's 17 million daily washes are now done with Persil.
And if placed side by side, all the 18-tablet Persil packs made in a year, would stretch from London to Tokyo and back.
ENDS
