Breck Shampoo

Breck Shampoo is an American brand of shampoo that is also known for its Breck Girls advertising campaign.

Breck
Product typeHair care
OwnerHenkel North American Consumer Goods
CountryUnited States
Introduced1930 (1930)
Previous ownersJohn H. Breck, Inc. (1930-1963), Shulton (1963-1990)
Ann Basinger and her daughter Kim Basinger, 1972

History

In 1930, Dr. John H. Breck, Sr. (June 5, 1877 – February 1965) of Springfield, Massachusetts, founded Breck Shampoo. Advertising that "every woman is different," by the 1950s, the shampoo was available in three expressions, color-coded for easy identity:[1]

  • D (red label) "For Dry Hair"
  • O (yellow label) "For Oily Hair"
  • N (blue label) "For Normal Hair"

In 1963, Breck was sold to Shulton Division of American Cyanamid, a chemical company based in New Jersey.

Breck was sold to The Dial Corporation in 1990.[2] In 2001, Dial licensed Breck to The Himmel Group[3][4] and in 2006 it was licensed to Dollar Tree.

The Dial Corporation (now Henkel North American Consumer Goods) continues to market Breck shampoo in the institutional market.

Breck Girls


In 1936, son Edward J. Breck (1907–1993) assumed management of Breck Shampoo and hired commercial artist Charles Gates Sheldon (1889 – 1961) to draw women for their advertisements.[5] Sheldon's early portraits for Breck were done in pastels, with a soft focus and halos of light and color surrounding them. He created romantic images of feminine beauty and purity. He preferred to draw "real women" as opposed to professional models.

In 1957 Ralph William Williams succeeded Sheldon as the Breck artist. Unlike Sheldon, he often used professional women. Breck advertisements ran regularly in magazines such as Ladies Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion, Seventeen, Vogue, Glamour, and Harper's Bazaar. They were most often on the back cover of the magazine. During these years, Breck Girls were identified through the company's sponsorship of America's Junior Miss contests. After Williams' death in 1976, the advertising tradition stopped. It was relaunched in 1987 with portrait artist Robert Anderson. Celia Gouge from Atlanta was chosen as the 1987 Breck Girl. Joanne DeLavan O'Donnell, also from Atlanta, was chosen as the 1988 Breck Girl. In 1988, the then owner of the brand changed the name of the campaign spokesperson to The Breck Woman.

The Breck Girls ads are archived in the advertising history records in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

References
  1. Full page magazine advertisement for Breck Shampoos, 1960.
  2. Lev, Michael (11 September 1990). "Cyanamid completes Shulton sale". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  3. "Dial, Himmel bring back Breck". 25 June 2001. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  4. "Will Breck make a comeback?". HAPPI.com. 26 June 2001. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  5. Cross, Mary (2002). A Century of American Icons: 100 Products and Slogans from the 20th-Century Consumer Culture. Greenwood Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0313314810. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  6. "Newsmakers: Breck girl – Cecila Gouge". Kentucky New Era. 1987-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-04. The Breck girl is back. But now she's a woman, with a job and a child. ... [I]n the 1970s, the Breck girl was seen as a possible liability. To avoid feminist ire, the maker of Breck shampoo banished the Breck girl. ... A random search in four cities produced 28-year-old Cecilia Gouge of Conyers, Ga., a secretary at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Atlanta.
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