Listerine is the most popular brand of mouthwash products in the world. But did you know that Listerine was originally used as a toilet cleaner?
Not only is it used to clean toilets, but Listerine is also promoted to treat gonorrhea or venereal disease.
So, how can toilet cleaning products and sexually transmitted disease medications be turned into mouthwash products?
In the 1800s, Joseph Lister or known as Dr. Lister says the practice of hand washing is a good action. He believed the disease came from dirty and foul air.
Dr. Lister also found that washing his medical devices and hands with phenol would reduce the percentage of deaths of his patients compared to before.
After he discovered the use of phenol, Dr. Lister explores in more depth the theory of evil microorganisms that plague the entire human race.
Dr. Lister believes germs are like invisible monsters but are very dangerous in everyday human life.
However, the idea was widely rejected by other doctors at the time. Prior to that, the doctor's medical equipment was not washed but Dr. Lister who started the revolution in the use of antiseptics in the field of medicine.
A chemist and businessman, Jordan Wheat Lambert decided to make an antiseptic. Probably because he was interested in Dr. Lister and want to get free marketing, Lambert named his product Listerine.
At that time, antiseptics were used to wash surgical instruments only but were not sold. Due to that, Lambert's partner Dr. Joseph Lawrence decided to market their products with a variety of tactics such as being able to treat dandruff, used after shaving, to flush toilets and treat venereal diseases.
However, Listerine sales are still not selling even though various tactics have been used so they need a new strategy.
Therefore, there is a hilotoxis. This hilotosis is a combination of two Latin words, ‘halitus’ which means breath and ‘osis’ is a disease or the simple language is bad breath.
The word is used so that people consider hilotoxis to be a dangerous disease and can only be treated with Listerine, whereas bad breath can be ‘treated’ by just eating chewing gum.
In fact, the strategy of scaring people to buy a product is still practiced to this day and is a very ‘powerful’ tactic.
