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Fairy Liquid 

Now Hands That Do Dish Can Be Soft As Your Skin 

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 Snapshot

Births: Diana, Princess of Wales; George Clooney; Ricky Gervais

Books: Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Current affairs: John F Kennedy becomes US president; The Vietnam War officially begins; construction of The Berlin Wall; Tottenham Hotspur wins the League and the Cup Double

Deaths: Ernest Hemingway; Vanessa Bell; George Formby

Films: West Side Story sweeps the Oscars; Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Music: The Beatles perform at The Cavern Club for the first time; the careers of The Beach Boys and The Temptations begin


Lemon. If there was one word that summed up marketing and advertising this year, it was lemon. In the US, a VW print campaign was causing ripples across the advertising industry. Using simple headlines like “Lemon” or “Think Small”, VW and its creative agency Doyle Dane Bernbach was masterfully persuading the American public to fall in love with a German car in the shadow of World War Two. Breaking conventions, this creative style was based on the subtle sell and marked a new approach for ad agencies – pairing copywriters and art directors as part of an equal team.

Across the Atlantic, an altogether sleeker-looking car was causing waves – the E-Type Jaguar, Britain’s affordable answer to the flashy Italian Ferrari. It was snapped up by celebrities like footballer George Best and George Harrison from The Beatles. And it wasn’t the only British brand innovating. Wilkinson Sword began to attract attention internationally for the first time, with the launch of a new and revolutionary Teflon-coated blade.

Two iconic strands of British advertising debuted this year. Fairy Liquid’s memorable slogan, “Now hands that do dishes can feel as soft as your face, with mild green Fairy Liquid,” sang onto the screens. And there was a new kid in town - Nestle’s iconic Milky Bar Kid.

 What do you think?

To celebrate our 50th Anniversary we have already chosen 50 Golden Brands from 1959 to 2008, but now we want you to help us choose the Golden Brand of 2009 which will be awarded at our 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner on November 16 at the Battersea Evolution.

Which brand do you think is worthy of our Golden Brand of 2009?

(All fields are mandatory)

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 Latest comments

Fairy Lquid in cans!

Fairy liquid & Lux liquid were originaly launched in screw top cans (1958)?
Think Sqeezy liquid was the first one to be sold in a sqeezy plastic bottle, quickly followed by the Fairy & Lux.
The large size was 2/6 with a smaller can at 1/8.

Posted by Dave Barber on 2/15/2010 | 11:07 PM

Trust

Does what it always has promised to do continuously over 50 years

Posted by Lesley Anzalone on 10/14/2009 | 12:31 PM

Just the best product

Does the job better than the rest

Posted by Sue Page on 9/16/2009 | 10:03 AM

Original bottle shape

Can we see a picture of the original bottle shape and not the new version, which doesn't do justice to the brand?

Posted by Jules on 2/14/2009 | 12:47 PM

Still top in tests

After nearly 50 years, Fairy is still the best - it came top in the latest Which? test, and one bottle will get through an amazing 12,500 plates. UK consumers buy five times as much as the next most popular brand.

Nicola Frame, Which?

Posted by Nicola Frame, Which? on 8/21/2008 | 11:55 AM

Now I get It!

I never understood what the Fairy slogan was. I'd never get what was being sung until I read this post "Now hands that do dishes can feel as soft as your face". You don't even want to know what I thought they were singing all this time.

Posted by Peter O'Toole on 8/20/2008 | 12:22 PM

Fairy Liquid.

Fairy Liquid gained market leadership immediately it was launched, when dishwashing liquid was a rapidly growing market. It has dominated this market for the past 50 years, and the Fairybrand has been skilfully line extended in recent years.

Posted by Hugh Davidson. on 7/25/2008 | 7:01 PM

Still owns the category...

I'm 47 years old and still right 'Fairy Liquid' on my shopping list when i actually mean Waitrose own label cucumber and mint....!!

Posted by Claire on 6/30/2008 | 8:16 PM

Fairy Liquid

Totally right choice, entered dishwashing market late but being a very superior product very well marketed it rapidly grew to brand leadership and dominated the market for many years

Posted by Peter Mitchell on 6/11/2008 | 6:53 PM