CHEWING GUM for purely medicinal purposes

In July of 2009 I ran a piece about a Double Mint gum ad from a 1934 magazine. Take a look at it, but be forewarned, this ain't YOUR Double Mint gum. This is your grandma's Double Mint or maybe your great-grandma's gum.

Wrigley's wasn't just using sex to sell gum, they were using medical theories. What? You never thought of gum as a beauty aid? Wrigley's did and continued to do so as per this example from the May 1937 The American Magazine ad. Obviously they were toning the blatant sex down and hoping for something a bit more elegant than carnal.

Now, I have to wonder how they came up with this campaign. It was the 1930s; tough times. When I think back on people chewing gum in the '30s I think of gun-mols in old movies who said "soitanly" instead of "certainly," and they cracked and popped their gum. Was this gum chewing stereotype a threat to gum companies? By the time these ads were running the son of the original Wrigley was in charge of the company and he seemed willing to push advertising limits to keep the company name in a good light.

1891–1932: William Wrigley Jr.In 1891, 29 year-old William Wrigley Jr. (1861–1932) came to Chicago from Philadelphia with $32 and the idea to start a business selling “Wrigley’s Scouring Soap”. Wrigley offered premiums as an incentive to buy his soap, such as baking powder. Later in his career, he switched to the baking powder business, in which he began offering two packages of chewing gum for each purchase of a can of baking powder. The popular premium, chewing gum, began to seem more promising than the actual baking powder. Thus, in 1893, Wrigley launched his classic chewing gum brands, including Juicy Fruit, Spearmint, and Doublemint. All three brands have stayed relevant for over 100 years, continuing to satiate the customers of Wrigley’s Chewing Gum to this day.

1932–1961: Philip K. WrigleyAfter the death of William Wrigley Jr., his son Philip K. Wrigley (1894–1977) assumed his father’s position as CEO of the successful Wrigley Company. Philip is most well-known for his unusual move to support US troops and protect the reputation of the Wrigley brand during World War II, in which he dedicated the entire output of Wrigley’s Spearmint, Doublemint, and Juicy Fruit to the US Armed Forces. Philip launched the “Remember this Wrapper” ad campaign to keep the Wrigley brands on the minds of the customers during times of wartime rationing. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

I can't find anything online about how this campaign came about, but I did find this wonderful article from the Northern Territory Times in Australia on November 27th, 1928. It's a hoot!