P&G Corporate Newsroom

P&G Views: Heritage

  • Then and Now: Going to Great Lengths to Get P&G Products in the Hands of Consumers
    February 19, 2013 - 1:40pm
    Five. That’s the number of sales representatives who began selling P&G products directly to retailers and consumers across the United States in the late 1800s, under the leadership of Harley Procter, son of founder William Procter.Young Harley, who had joined the family business 10 years before, had many ideas about how to improve sales. The invention and naming of Ivory Soap opened the door to opportunity. Harley knew he had a superior product. Now all he had to do was tell the worldmore...
  • Birth of an Icon: ARIEL
    January 11, 2013 - 11:20am
    In the 1960s, washing clothes was an arduous labor of love. The sorting, soaking, boiling, pre-treating and scrubbing to remove stains was time-intensive and physically demanding.more...
  • Birth of An Icon: Tampax
    December 21, 2012 - 8:37am
    P&G’s iconic brand Tampax has essentially changed women’s everyday lives forever, providing an innovative and comfortable feminine care option. Invented by Dr. Earl Haas in the early 1930s, the tampon’s origins actually go as far back as fifth century B.C. The Greek surgeon Hippocrates described a similar object in his writings. In the 1800s, physicians used improvised plugs of cotton to absorb secretions in surgery.more...
  • Birth of an Icon: OLAY
    November 9, 2012 - 2:56pm
    Can the simple, everyday act of applying moisturizer change how a woman feels about herself? P&G’s Olay believes so. Since 1952, this iconic brand has helped women all over the world feel more youthful and more beautiful every day.more...
  • William Procter’s Pilgrimage to Cincinnati
    November 7, 2012 - 10:14am
    Stories handed down the Long Blue Line—whether heartwarming or heartbreaking—give us great glimpses into the past that shine a light on our roots and inspire us to work harder to improve everyday life today, and tomorrow.The account of founder William Procter’s journey with his wife Martha from England to Cincinnati is, as his grandson describes it in his memoirs, “a pathetic story of two young people starting out in the new world.”more...
  • Birth of an Icon: IVORY
    November 5, 2012 - 10:54am
    It isn’t an overstatement to say that simple, pure Ivory soap—one of P&G’s iconic brands and very first products—changed the world. Ivory not only changed how we think of soap. It revolutionized the world of branding, marketing and advertising, with pioneering methods that are still used today.more...
  • Birth of an Icon: TIDE
    November 2, 2012 - 9:54am
    Tide’s story begins in the 1930s, when a group of P&G scientists were quietly working on a mysterious cleaning agent they believed had great potential as a heavy-duty synthetic detergent. Behind closed doors, it was known as Product X.But after 200,000 hours of slow, painstaking tests to get the formula right, they couldn’t make it work. One by one, all of the scientists were reassigned to other projects, and were instructed to abandon their heavy-duty detergent research.more...
  • Dear Son William
    November 1, 2012 - 8:04am
    Today marks the first in a series commemorating our 175th anniversary. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing several remarkable stories and videos from our first 175 years. We’ll tell of little-known events from our past that shaped the Company we are today; firsts from our brands that helped revolutionize the way people do everyday things; and people, whose courage and resolve reflect the passion of P&G people to make the “everyday” a little more extraordinary.more...
  • Pringles – Bidding Farewell To A P&G Original
    May 31, 2012 - 3:50pm
    With the completion of the Pringles divestiture to the Kellogg Company, we take a moment to reflect on the legacy of this true P&G Original. For more than 40 years, Pringles has delighted consumers with its one-of-a kind fun shape, flavor, crunch and unique texture. This iconic brand is loved by consumers around the world with sales in more than 140 countries and packaging produced in 37 languages.more...
  • P&G Celebrates 25 Years Of A ‘Beautiful Life’ In Thailand
    April 4, 2012 - 10:27am
    Clean drinking water, educational opportunities and an intense focus on innovating to improve the quality of life for consumers are all hallmarks of P&G’s Thailand business.more...