Now his and her toothpaste
Is this marketing gone too far or just a new product meeting a need?
P&G thinks its new product will help trigger that urgent "rush to brush" feeling in women. In focus groups for P&G's Olay Total Effects antiwrinkle cream, some women remarked that they would like a toothpaste that brought similar benefits to their mouths. Teeth, of course, don't wrinkle or sag. But P&G nonetheless thought it could make women think about toothpaste in the same way they do about skin lotion and shampoo.
...Women responded most strongly to cinnamon and vanilla flavorings. They also liked a little sparkle in the paste. Some women complained that the tubes of Crest weren't attractive and clashed with their towels at home. The Crest team compiled all these findings and came up with Rejuvenating Effects.
P&G's push comes amid a fierce battle for market share between Crest and Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s Colgate, which together can claim two-thirds of the $1.2 billion in U.S. toothpaste sales. In 1998, Colgate passed Crest as the nation's best-selling brand -- "a sad, sad day around here," says Jennifer Dauer, general manager for Crest's North American business.