Advertising Formula 409 Cleaner. (Feb. 13th, 2012)

Those for you who do not know, Formula 409 was created in 1957 by the Rouff brothers, three scientists from Detroit, Michigan. The brothers worked for Gem Products, an industrial cleaning solution manufacturer. As their intention was to create a heavy-duty degreaser for commercial de-greasing, alkaline was a main ingredient in this powerful cleaner. Gem Products sold Formula 409 to Chemsol in 1960. Chemsol toned down the chemical content of the formula in to a product gentle enough for standard home use. In the mid-1960s, entrepreneurs Harrell, Woodcock and Linkletter bought the product and promoted it on the national level through television commercials. Clorox eventually purchased the Formula 409 brand. It was named 409 because it was not until the 409th try that Gem Products was able to discover the perfect chemical mixture for degreasing needs. The first appearance of the product was in an 1960s television commercial for Formula 409 featured animated pinup girl Betty Boop singing as she cleaned with a hulky bottle of the solution. (wikipedia)

Researching Formula 409 is no easy task. There isn't much information out there regarding the advertisement of 409 or its demographics. But when looking at past ad campaigns, one can see that 409 is mainly for house wives and house mothers (age ranging between mid 20s to late 60s). There hasn't been any other 409 campaigns to prove otherwise. So if 409 were to start a new campaign anytime soon, they might want to think about using other demographics. The product should not only communicate to a female audience, it should also communicate to the men. 409 can also target men (ages 20-60). 409 is an all purpose cleaner, therefore should be treated as such. For the new 409 ad campaigns, the product should express a more masculine point of few. For example, showing a man who has a giant mess to clean up after having a huge party and the only solution to clean it all up with is 409. This type of campaign will involve a great deal of brainstorming, sketching, and male opinions to get this campaign right.