Smithsonian Gets Ivory

The museum that houses Archie Bunker’s chair has added another national treasurer to its lineup

Ivory’s slogans, “It Floats” and “99 44/100% Pure,” are two of the most recognizable slogans in American advertising history, according to P&G. An accompanying display will showcase highlights of the Ivory advertising materials dating back to 1882, including the first Ivory

baby, various campaigns throughout the 20th century and rare artifacts. Thedisplay opens today and will continue until Dec. 31 outside of the museum’s Archives Center.

Procter & Gamble will present the Smithsonian with more than 5000 print, radio and television advertisements that date back to 1882. The materials include decades of Ivory Girl ads, guides to alternative uses for soap, a soap-carving kit and the famous Ivory Lady, the brand’s first color advertisement and the first color advertisement for soap in the U.S., which appeared in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1896. In addition, decades of Ivory baby sketches and photographs will be part of the display.

“The Ivory ads will allow researchers and visitors to learn about the evolution of advertising strategies and techniques,” said John Fleckner, chief archivist at the museum. “Because they cover such a long time period, the Ivory ads are extremely rich sources for studying many historical and cultural topics beyond the history of advertising. A full run of Ivory Soap advertising and related materials will complement the business history collections at the Archives Center, joining those from Simmons, Hills Bros. and Krispy Kreme, among others.”