The power of television in the early days was mind-boggling. No advertisements today – even the mega-popular Super Bowl commercials – can rival the impact of many TV ads in the 1950’s.
Case in point? Brylcreem.
Until the mid-50’s, most guys wore flat tops, crew cuts, or GI’s as they were sometimes called. It was the result of the lingering influence of World War II and the deep admiration society held for our fighting men. Then, longer hair began creeping into the Boomer culture. An actor named James Dean made the D.T. (duck tail) haircut popular, and young men went for the longer cuts almost immediately. About that time, a product called Brylcreem emerged.
Owned by an English company, County Chemicals, Brylcreem introduced a commercial with a catchy jingle that thrust its products to the top seller status, eclipsing other established grooming brands such as Vitalis, Wildroot Cream Oil, Butch Wax and others. The jingle went something like this:
“Brylcreem – A Little Dab’ll Do Ya!
Brylcreem – You’ll look so debonaire.
Brylcreem – The gals’ll all pursue ya.
They’ll love to run their fingers through your hair!”
The commercial, with various twists, featured an otherwise nice looking fellow who, when he took his hat off, exposed dry, unruly hair. The girls freaked out and would have no part of him. But then with just a little dab of Brylcreem, the guy had beautiful ladies flocking to him for a chance to run their fingers through his hair.
Sales went through the roof and few households in the entire country were without a tube of Brylcreem in the medicine cabinet.
The impact of those ads on TV in the 1950’s and 60’s still lingers even today. Ask a Boomer, any Boomer, what the phrase “A little Dab ‘ll do ya” describes and the answer will always be Brylcreem. It was a jingle imbedded into our minds. And why not? Who would not a want a product that had the ladies wanting to run their fingers through your hair?