The Gospel of Being Clean: How Harley Procter Used Religion to Sell Soap
In the spring of 1879, Harley Procter went to church. “All thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad.” the preacher read from the book of Psalms. It was as if the heavens opened, and a choir of angels sang in his ear. At last, he knew his search was over.
“Ivory,” he said with dazed reverence, “why, that’s the perfect name for my soap.”
The Pure Truth
Ivory was a nice name. It was certainly better than white soap, the name originally given to Procter and Gambles's new product. But that’s not what sent it to stardom. In Harvey’s day, soap was underdeveloped and under-appreciated. There was cheap soap rendered from animal fat with its mucky color, and smell, and luxury soaps. They were nicer, but unattainable for the average American. More importantly, the average Joe didn’t really give a hoot about soap. Joe bathed once a week, with the same soap his wife used to clean the floor. Life was too complicated to lament not lathering with something smelling like the morning mist, or apples in a north wind on a sunny day in September.
Now, Procter and Gamble started as a candle making company. However, James Gamble, one of the companies founders, was a soap maker. Gamble wanted a soap…
