Did You Know That Toothpaste Wasn't Always Supposed To Be 'Minty'?

Can you imagine toothpaste without mint? I bet you can’t. But, did you know it was Pepsodent which was marketed as the first dental hygiene product with mint flavoring?

You’ve probably been accustomed to the idea of toothpaste being ‘minty’, but have you ever wondered why? What was the need for toothpaste to be minty and why was it done? Enter 1900s early America, where oral hygiene was such a genuine and widespread source of concern that US Army Officials complained about newly drafted soldiers’ rotten teeth. Poor dental health was an epidemic. It was the legendary adman Claude C. Hopkins, whose advert for Pepsodent, which cultivated the habit of brushing teeth among the American populace.

Journalist Charles Duhigg has explored the history of Hopkin’s game-changing marketing campaign for Pepsodent, in his work The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. As the title of Duhigg’s book suggests, it is a research analysis and history of the development of ‘habits’. Claude C. Hopkins was a stalwart advertising tycoon who was responsible for the popularity of brands such as Qauker Oats and Palmolive. His primary method to popularize and advertise these brands hinged on Hopkins’ understanding and manipulation of ‘human habits’. But when he was approached by a friend to promote the latter’s new business idea, i.e. Pepsodent, Hopkins wasn’t that welcoming since 80% Americans had not developed the habit of brushing teeth in the 1900s. Hopkins was unsure if the people will respond favorably to a product which they tend to ignore.

After being convinced by his friend, Hopkins eventually got on board Pepsodent’s ad campaign. He knew that he had to analyze and capitalize on America’s craving if he wanted to sell the product. Hopkins’ research on the topic of dental care revealed some substance called ‘mucin plaques on teeth’ for which he coined the term, ‘film’. He decided to market Pepsodent as the toothpaste which helps remove this ‘film’, without any scientific study to back that claim.

Pretty soon, Hopkins started a nation-wide campaign with the tagline, “Note how many pretty teeth are seen everywhere. Million are using a new method of teeth cleansing. Why would any woman have dingy film on her teeth? Pepsodent removes the film.”

Thus, even without any scientific proof, within weeks of the extensive ad campaign, Pepsodent sales went through the roof. So much so, that there was an acute shortage of the toothpaste’s availability. Here’s an excerpt from Duhigg’s book on the Pepsodent phenomena, “Within five years of Hopkins' launching his advertising campaign, something like 60 percent of American households had Pepsodent in their bathrooms…This is the creation of a national tooth-brushing habit that basically didn’t even exist before Claude Hopkins came along.”

Despite Hopkins’ marketing acumen, the other part of the reason for Pepsodent’s success was its inclusion of ‘mint extract’. Mint extracts are mildly irritating on skin surface, more so, inside one’s mouth. But this tingling sensation gave an impression on its users that the toothpaste was actually working. Duhigg acknowledges this possibility in his book, “even though it had nothing to do with how the toothpaste actually worked. And people began to equate that tingling feeling with good dental hygiene. And as a result they began to crave it.”

As consumers grew addicted to the ‘minty’ sensation other companies started copying Pepsodent, and this brings us to the 21st century where we can’t even imagine toothpaste without mint. But, let’s not forget that it was Pepsodent which first created our perception of 'toothpaste’ being ‘minty’.