I have a friend who teaches at a university. Historical facts are very important to his job. He always laughs when a movie comes out that is set in historical times of 100 years or more. "The thing that makes these films historically unbelievable,” he quips, "is that the actors have all their teeth!” Any anthropologist worth his salt can tell you the approximate age when a person died by examining their skull, particularly their teeth. The decay of enamel on teeth coupled with the number that have rotted away and fallen out is a key indicator of the age of the person when they died. It is not that the toothbrush is a modern invention. It is not. It dates back to 3,500 B.C. in ancient Babylon. Toothpaste is even older, dating back to Egypt in 5,000 B.C. It is just that brushing one's teeth for good personal hygiene was not seen as essential until after 1945. So for centuries, people just put up with tooth decay and bad breath.

In your marketing efforts, have you considered the implications of retooling your brand to take hold of a popular trend? That is what toothpaste companies did when the GIs came home from WWII. The army had insisted upon soldiers brushing their teeth during WWII, making it a part of their daily regiment. It became a habit that came home with soldiers in 1945. Companies realized there was a demand to be met and a short window to widen the circle around the market. That is where re-inventing toothpaste to taste better came into play. Prior to 1945, toothpaste was made up of soap. Toothpaste was used with a stiff upper lip because it simply tasted horrible. After 1945, companies began to re-invent toothpaste, without soap, to be smooth, foam up in your mouth and, most importantly, taste good. Putting something in your mouth that tastes minty rather than like a bar of Life Buoy was a hit. But the real impact of teeth brushing happened when companies began to market the act as one of good health and not just a cosmetic solution. In 1950, Proctor and Gamble put an endorsement from the American Dental Association (ADA) on Crest toothpaste that made it the market leader for three decades. With the backing of groups like the ADA, toothpaste became an essential of good health.

The other marketing strategy that has paid off for the highly competitive toothpaste market is the constantly changing varieties of offerings. To springboard off of the "brushing is good for your dental health” theme, toothpaste has been marketed as a preventative solution for just about any oral problem. Name your dental disease and toothpaste has been touted as the solution. Name the latest trend in bicuspid beauty, and again toothpaste reinvents itself to be the solution. From tartar control to stain removal, gingivitus to sex appeal, there is extensive research and development that is pushed in the marketing of toothpaste. Understanding the latest trends in both beauty and health shapes the marketing message to the consumer.

The lesson to learn here is twofold. First, if you have a product, the market will tire of it if it does not get better every now and then. This is where marketing crosses paths with development. Getting feedback from your market will help you research the changes that need to be made if you are going to be viable in the marketplace. Secondly, realize that riding a trend is essential to marketing. Attitudes change frequently. You can only ride this wave so long before you have to get on the next wave. This is a constant cycle in marketing. What you were saying about your product last year is old news now. If you are going to compete, you have to take hold of opportunities as they present themselves.

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History of Toothbrushes and Toothpastes Colgate Oral and Dental Health Resource Center

http://www.colgate.com/app/CP/US/EN/OC/Information/Articles/Oral-and-Dental-Health-Basics/Oral-Hygiene/Brushing-and-Flossing/article/History-of-Toothbrushes-and-Toothpastes.cvsp

Toothbrush History Toothbrush Express.com http://www.toothbrushexpress.com/html/toothbrush_history.html

How Crest Made Business History by Peter Miskell. Harvard Business Review January 17, 2005.

Photo by Sharon Dominick