Cavity Protection or Cosmetic Perfection? Innovation and Marketing of Toothpaste Brands in the United States and Western Europe, 1955–1985

This article examines how the marketing and advertising of toothpaste brands evolved in the twentieth century, particularly from the 1950s to the 1980s. During these decades, the promotional strategies employed by leading toothpaste manufacturers were at odds with general developments in consumer product marketing. As branding strategies were being revolutionized by the discovery of a “Pepsi Generation,†the toothpaste market was itself being transformed by a technical innovation that was to have far-reaching consequences for the marketing of leading brands.