SPRAYTechnology & Marketing Commentary The fate of Coppertone As we go to press, the industry buzz is that multinational consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser is considered the frontrunner to buy Merck & Co.’s over-the-counter health business. The Merck unit, which makes Coppertone sun care products and Claritin allergy medicine, may fetch $10 billion to $12 billion, according to Bloomberg News. Acquiring it would make Reckitt Benckiser the third biggest global seller of consumer health products, up from number nine currently. This Coppertone news got me thinking about the fate of the venerable brand, especially as I prepare our annual Sun Care issue for publication. It may surprise some readers to know that sunscreen has only been around for approximately 70 years, and sunscreen as we know it today has been around for an even shorter period of time. Imagine venturing out in all kinds of harsh summer conditions with nothing to protect you but a hat or a parasol, if you were lucky. We now take for granted the plethora of products that offer us superior sun protection at a very reasonable price. In addition to the efficacy and low cost, we should also be grateful for the tantalizing scents of modern day sunscreens: coconut, kiwi, berry, lavender, melon, chamomile, aloe vera, calendula, green tea or unscented, if you prefer. You can spray it on, slather it on or roll it on. The consumers’ options are widely varied; however, this was not always the case. In 1944, Benjamin Green, an airman and pharmacist, used a greasy substance called “red vet pet” (red veterinary petrolatum) to protect himself and other soldiers from ultraviolet rays during World War II. Heavy and unpleasant, it worked primarily as a physical barrier between skin and the sun. After the War, Green mixed red vet pet, cocoa butter and coconut oil into a product that would eventually become Coppertone suntan cream. The original Coppertone logo was the profile of an Indian chief. However, the company became famous (or notorious) in 1953 when it introduced the Coppertone Girl, an advertisement showing a little girl in pigtails reacting in surprise as a Cocker Spaniel sneaks up behind 1953 Today her and pulls down her swimsuit bottom, revealing her backside to have a lighter tone than the rest of her body. The slogan was “Don’t be a paleface!” At the turn of the 21st century, Coppertone revised drawings of the Coppertone Girl so that they would be less revealing and she would have no tan lines. At one point, Coppertone was acquired by Plough, Inc. In 1971, the Schering Corp. merged with Plough, Inc., and in 2009 Schering-Plough merged with Merck & Co. and through a reverse merger Merck became a subsidiary of Schering-Plough, which renamed itself Merck. Got that? According to IRI, Merck ranked #2 in sun care in 2013 ($277.3 million in sales with 32.3 million units). It came second only to Energizer/ Playtex, which owns both sun care biggies Hawaiian Tropic and Banana Boat. In the end, it won’t matter much to consumers who owns Coppertone, as long as the favorite brand with its iconic logo is still on shelves to help prevent sun burn, premature aging and skin cancer. As far as most of us can remember, it’s always been there. It most likely always will be. 6 Spray May 2014 Cynthia Hundley Publisher chundley@spraytm.com Ava Caridad Editorial Director acaridad@spraytm.com Greg Dool Assistant Editor gdool@spraytm.com Montfort A. Johnsen Technical Editor montyjohnsen@att.net Susan Carver Vice President, Administration scarver@spraytm.com Doug Bacile National Sales Manager dbacile@spraytm.com Donald Farrell Production production@spraytm.com Joy Cunningham Reader Service Coordinator readerservice@spraytm.com Circulation circulation@spraytm.com Member: CAPCO Volume 24, No 5 Mayl 2014 Copyright 2014 by Industry Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. 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