 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2011) |
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| Type | Cleaning agent |
|---|---|
| Inception | 1947 |
| Manufacturer | Awesome Products Inc. (detergent) [1] Colgate-Palmolive (household cleaning products) |
| Available | Yes |
Ajax is an American brand of household cleaning products and detergents made by Colgate-Palmolive and Awesome Products Inc. [2]
Colgate-Palmolive introduced Ajax Powdered Cleanser in 1947 as one of the company's first major brands. [3] Its ingredients include sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sodium carbonate, and quartz. [4]
The Ajax brand was extended to a line of household cleaning products and detergents, which enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s. Ajax All Purpose Cleaner with Ammonia, introduced in 1962, was the first major competitor to Procter and Gamble's Mr. Clean (debuted 1958). Ajax's success as the so called "White Tornado" forced Procter and Gamble to introduce its own ammoniated cleaner, Top Job, in 1963.
Other products by Ajax included Ajax Bucket of Power, an ammoniated power floor cleaner (1963); Ajax Laundry Detergent (1964); and Ajax Window Cleaner with Hex ammonia (1965). The last successful Ajax line extension in North America, Ajax for Dishes (now known as Ajax Dishwashing Liquid) debuted in 1971.
Currently, Ajax Powdered Cleanser and Ajax Dishwashing Liquid are the only two Ajax products sold by Colgate-Palmolive in the United States. In 2005, Colgate-Palmolive licensed the American and Canadian rights to the Ajax brand name for laundry detergent products. In the same transaction, Colgate-Palmolive also sold its American, Canadian and Puerto Rican laundry products business to Phoenix Brands in 2005. [5]
Awesome Products Inc. acquired Ajax laundry care in November 2023. [6]
The slogan for the original Ajax laundry detergent was "Stronger than dirt!", trademarked by Colgate-Palmolive Company. [7] This slogan was often advertised with a knight in armor riding a white horse. The "Stronger Than Dirt!" lick even ended the song "Touch Me" by The Doors, reflecting its popularity at the time. [8]
Additionally, the USPTO shows that Colgate-Palmolive Company also held a trademark for "Stronger than grease" until 2023. [9] While Ajax's products are labeled with "Stronger than dirt" as listed on their website, [10] a Greek City Times story referenced a viral social media post that suggested "Stronger than grease" was a pun referencing the Greek mythological hero Ajax, though Colgate-Palmolive never confirmed this interpretation. [11] Colgate ceased advertising in the United Kingdom for the brand in January 1996. [12]
American actor Eugene Roche gained fame as Ajax man "Squeaky Clean" in many television commercials of the 1970s. [13]
In the United Kingdom, character actress Ann Lancaster appeared on television advertisements featuring the slogan "It cleans like a white tornado".
In 1977, Steptoe and Son actors Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett appeared in two television advertisements for Ajax, recorded during their tour of Australia.
In the Philippines, actress Lorli Villanueva appeared in television commercials, featuring her character as "Maxima Labandera" in the 1970s. [14] Lito Lapid, Jimmy Santos, Nida Blanca also starred in various Ajax detergent commercials from 1988 to 1992.[ citation needed ] Blanca's frequent co-star Dolphy was the final brand ambassador of Ajax detergent from 1994 until the product's discontinuation in 2000.[ citation needed ]
In Australia, Ajax Spray n' Wipe television commercials appeared from 1988 to 2010, all with the same music based on Ian Dury's song "Billericay Dickie". The ads featured soap opera actress Paula Duncan. [15]
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are more soluble in hard water, because the polar sulfonate is less likely than the polar carboxylate to bind to calcium and other ions found in hard water.
The Colgate-Palmolive Company, commonly known as Colgate-Palmolive, is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health care, personal care, and veterinary products.
Tide is an American brand of laundry detergent manufactured and marketed by Procter & Gamble. Introduced in 1946, it is the highest-selling detergent brand in the world, with an estimated 14.3 percent of the global market.
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Ivory is an American flagship personal care brand created by the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), including varieties of white and mildly scented bar soap that became famous for its claim of purity and for floating on water. Over the years, the brand has been extended to other varieties and products.
Joy is an American brand of dishwashing liquid detergent owned by JoySuds, LLC. The brand was introduced in the United States in 1949 by Procter & Gamble. In 2019, Procter & Gamble sold the rights to the Joy brand for the Americas to JoySuds, LLC.
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Laundry detergent is a type of detergent used for cleaning dirty laundry (clothes). Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder and liquid form.
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Comet is an American brand of scouring powders and other household cleaning products manufactured by KIK Custom Products Inc. The brand was introduced in 1956 by Procter & Gamble (P&G) and sold to Prestige Brands in 2001. In 2018, Prestige Brands sold the Comet brand to KIK Custom Products Inc. P&G retained the rights to market the brand in Europe and to the professional market (non-home-consumer) in the United States.
Colgate is an American brand principally used for oral hygiene products such as toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes and dental floss. Manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive, Colgate's oral hygiene products were first sold by the company in 1873, sixteen years after the death of the founder, William Colgate. The company originally sold soap.
Fresh Start was the first powdered detergent to come in a plastic bottle. It was also one of the first detergents to be highly concentrated, before all detergents went concentrated.
Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, foul odors, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removing offensive odors, and avoiding the spread of dirt and contaminants to oneself and others. Some cleaning agents can kill bacteria and clean at the same time. Others, called degreasers, contain organic solvents to help dissolve oils and fats.
Dawn is an American brand of dishwashing liquid owned by Procter & Gamble. Introduced in 1973, it is the best-selling brand of dishwashing liquid in the United States. Besides being used for dishwashing purposes, Dawn products are also used to remove grease from other items, such as animal fat spilled onto highways, and oil on animals, such as during the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon oil spills.
Palmolive is an American multinational brand of a line of products produced by Colgate-Palmolive. The Palmolive brand grew from one product, Palmolive bar soap. Made of coconut, palm and olive oils, Palmolive bar soap was introduced in 1898. Originally, the bar soap floated like Procter & Gamble's Ivory bar soap. By the turn of the 20th century, Palmolive bar soap was the world's best-selling soap.
Lestoil is a registered trade name of Clorox for a heavy-duty multipurpose cleanser product, used to remove extremely difficult laundry stains, dissolve water-based and oil-based paints, and clean grease, oil, paint, and adhesives from floors and surfaces. It was introduced as a dry cleaning fluid for laundry in 1933. As a company, Lestoil, also known as the Adell Chemical Company, also made Bon Ami, from 1964 until 1971.
Dishwasher detergent is a detergent made for washing dishes in a dishwasher. Dishwasher detergent is different from dishwashing liquid made to wash dishes by hand.
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