 | |
| Product type | Sunscreen |
|---|---|
| Owner | Beiersdorf |
| Country | U.S. |
| Introduced | 1944 |
| Previous owners | Bayer Merck & Co., Inc. Schering-Plough |
| Registered as a trademark in | U.S., Canada |
| Website | coppertone.com |
Coppertone is the brand name for an American sunscreen. [1] [2] Coppertone uses a variety of branding, including the Coppertone girl logo and a distinctive fragrance.
The original product dates to 1944, when pharmacist Benjamin Green invented a lotion to darken tans. [3] The product line has been expanded to include many skin care products, predominantly sunscreens. Coppertone has become the leading sun care brand in the United States, with annual $9 billion in global sales. [3]
The name Coppertone originated from its marketing of suntan lotion, as opposed to sunscreen. [3]
In the time when the product was a suntan lotion, the company introduced the character the Coppertone girl, also known as Little Miss Coppertone. In the advertisement, a young blond girl in pigtails stares in surprise as a cocker spaniel puppy tugs at her swimsuit, revealing her tan line. [3]
The original Coppertone logo was the profile of an aboriginal chief. In 1953, Tally Embry Advertising in Florida was hired, and their ad men created the concept of the little girl and the pup. An artist named Joyce Ballantyne Brand re-drew the little girl in 1959 when the original artwork was destroyed in a fire. She was then working for Grant Advertising in New York. [4]
A series of mechanical billboards were constructed across the United States, whereon the motorized dog and swimsuit bottoms rocked up and down perpetually. Although most of them are long since gone or have stopped moving, one such billboard of the then Coppertone Girl still stands in Miami Beach — dog, pigtails, swimsuit, bottom, and all.
When Joyce Ballantyne Brand redrew the logo in 1959, she purportedly used her daughter, Cheri, as her model, and her drawing closely resembled the original artwork. [4]
Many Coppertone products share a distinctive fragrance. Chandler Burr described it as "arguably the single greatest work of scent branding ever." [5] A researcher on human memory used it as an example of an odor that evokes autobiographical memories. [6] Besides for the classic fragrance, the Coppertone product line has expanded to include other scents. [3]
An early slogan for Coppertone was, "Tan, don't burn". [3]
Circa 2018, competing brands included Neutrogena and Banana Boat. [3]
The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 60,000 employees and a presence in 66 countries. The group includes around 250 companies; the main company is Merck KGaA in Germany. The company is divided into three business lines: Healthcare, Life Sciences and Electronics. Merck was founded in 1668 and is the world's oldest operating chemical and pharmaceutical company, as well as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies globally.
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Sun tanning or tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. It is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight or from artificial sources, such as a tanning lamp found in indoor tanning beds. People who deliberately tan their skin by exposure to the sun engage in a passive recreational activity of sun bathing. Some people use chemical products that can produce a tanning effect without exposure to ultraviolet radiation, known as sunless tanning.
Dihydroxyacetone, also known as glycerone, is a simple saccharide with formula C
3H
6O
3.
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Beiersdorf AG is a German multinational company that manufactures personal-care products and pressure-sensitive adhesives headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Its brands include Elastoplast, Eucerin, Labello, La Prairie, Garnier, Nivea, Tesa SE and Coppertone.
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A tan line is a visually clear division on the human skin between an area of pronounced comparative paleness relative to other areas that have been suntanned by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation or by sunless tanning. The source of the radiation may be the sun or artificial UV sources such as tanning lamps. Tan lines are usually an unintentional result of a work environment or recreational activities, but are sometimes intentional. Many people seek to avoid tan lines that will be visible when regular clothes are worn.
Joyce Ballantyne was a painter of pin-up art. She is best known as the designer of the Coppertone girl, whose swimming costume is being pulled down by a dog.
Hawaiian Tropic is an American brand of suntan lotion that was founded by Ron Rice in 1969. Hawaiian Tropic became the largest private manufacturer of sun care products in the United States. The company was acquired by Playtex Products, Inc. in May 2007. With Hawaiian Tropic and Playtex's Banana Boat brand, Playtex became the largest manufacturer of sun care products in the Western Hemisphere. Shortly after purchasing Hawaiian Tropic, Playtex Products was purchased by Energizer Holdings Inc. in a deal valued at $1.9 billion.
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The Coppertone girl sign is a landmark in Miami Beach, Florida, known for being the last operating example of a series of mechanical billboards that were constructed by the Coppertone company to advertise its tanning oil products across the United States. The sign features a young girl and a cocker spaniel puppy who is attempting to steal her swimsuit bottom; the motorized dog and swimsuit bottom rock up and down, exposing the child's tan line.
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