Listerine

Campaign in 1998-1999 by J Walter Thompson for Listerine mouthwash. Objective: make brand an essential part of oral care routine: Listerine, used twice a day, kills more harmful bacteria than toothpaste, giving healthier teeth and gums.
Agency: J Walter ThompsonAuthor: Bridget Angear

Frustrating The Tooth Fairy: Repositioning Listerine From Fresh Breath To Healthy Teeth

BACKGROUND

Listerine was invented in St Louis; Missouri by a physician named Dr. Joshua Lawrence in 1879. It was first marketed as a powerful antidote against dandruff, a soother of insect bites, a curer of athletes foot and as an antiseptic that cleaned cuts and abrasions, until the late 1920s when Listerine focussed on the single-minded proposition that it could remove halitosis. It was on this platform that the brand was built over the next sixty years.

When...

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands