Charmin circa 1952: A Flowery Sales Pitch

While plowing though some forgotten boxes of ephemera (that’s another story for another day) I came across this vintage newspaper advertisement.

Before Mr. Whipple there was this woman: Ms. Particular Chin-touching Centerpiece-Loving Bareshoulders, seen here with pageant “pretty feet,” pondering her bright flower-filled home as well as her hospital-pure potty paper. Hope Mr. Particular isn’t late for dinner again tonight! (Five years after this ad appeared, Charmin was acquired by Procter & Gamble.)

This product was always intended to attract women and their pin money. I learned here that the original Wisconsin-born Charmin was “described as ‘charming’ by an employee, and the Charmin brand name was born.” The flower-compatible product was “designed to look like feminine fashions of the day. Packaging was light blue and featured the silhouette of a woman’s head from a cameo pin, which became known as the “Charmin Lady.”