P&G STARTS WAVE OF TIDE EVENTS, PRODUCTS

RICHARD TURCSIK

CINCINNATI -- Procter & Gamble Co. here has developed new products, advertising and nostalgic packaging for the 50th anniversary of its Tide laundry detergent in moves designed to further increase sales and market share of America's best-selling detergent.

"Our simple goal is to always keep Tide at the forefront of the detergent category," Charlie Pierce, vice president and general manager, U.S. Laundry Products, at P&G, told Brand Marketing.

"The Tide brand has been the market leader in the U.S. since right after its initial launch in the late 1940s. We intend to continue to grow and expand its position as America's most favorite detergent," he said, adding it is the sixth largest brand in among all U.S. consumer products.

"The success of Tide over the last 50 years is based on understanding the consumer and developing outstanding products to meet changing consumer needs. We have a very long track record of bringing innovations and new fabric care technologies to the American consumer," Pierce said, adding Tide has been updated over 60 times since its introduction. As part of its continuing upgrading of the Tide formula, P&G is currently test marketing a Tide Treatments line of laundry enhancer products here and in Dayton. The first line extension in the history of the brand, Tide Treatments is a line of additives that includes a pretreater, a dry non-chlorine bleach and a liquid non-chlorine bleach.

"Here we're trying to capitalize on the association that the name Tide has with superior performing products that lead to a higher end result for laundry [category sales]," Pierce said.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, P&G is also introducing a new Tide Ultra 2 powder detergent to the market this month (March), that will replace powder Tide Ultra on store shelves. Tide Ultra 2 is 20% more concentrated than the current powder and contains a proprietary polymer technology to enhance its grease removal performance.

P&G is placing a 50th anniversary logo on most of its powder products, and the 85-use powder is a special collector's edition with the original 1946 graphics and logo on one side of the box and the current graphics and logo on the other.

"That package is selling like hot cakes right now. We're running flat out to keep up with demand for it," Pierce said.

To celebrate Tide's 50th, P&G is also running a Dirtiest Kid in America contest in which consumers mail in pictures of their dirty youngsters. The winner will be announced in New York in August. As part of the promotion, P&G is donating 50 cents to the Give Kids The World Organization for each entry received.

A Tide display-building contest was also conducted in February with retailers.