Company: Bristol Myers
Years: 1966 - 70's (?)
Hey everyone.
This is kind of awkward for me to even be bringing up, but it's just that....how do I put this nicely.....all these Gone But Not Forgotten Groceries you've been eating have done a number on your breath.
I mean, you've been eating Bakewiches, you've been eating Libbyland Dinners.......and every time you breathe on me a little part of me dies. Mostly my nose part.
So I went and got you something.
Yep. I got you a tube of Vote Toothpaste. This isn't some weak kids toothpaste either....it's the adult toothpaste that comes in the new plastic tube. Yes, you heard me correctly. Those old Metal tubes are a thing of the past with Vote. This is 1968, embrace the future already.
I know what you're thinking: Why "Vote"? Well, because it's your civic duty as an American Citizen.
Aw, I'm just messin' with you.
And I'm dodging the question, because why it's called VOTE is a mystery to me too. We could ask around and see if anyone has the inside scoop. Yeah, I think we should do that.
But for now, I just want you to do one thing. Brush those nasty looking teeth.
It's your civic duty as an American Citizen (and your civic duty as someone sitting so close to me).
I don't know about "inside scoops", but the ad campaign came from the Joe Wolhandler Agency in New York. Joe did contract work for Lever Brothers and Bristol Meyers in the late 1960s. Previously all toothpaste ads had been aimed at either healthy teeth or getting laid; in the early 1960s the first "kids" toothpaste came out, and "Vote" was a response.
ReplyDeletethe VOTE Toothpaste left a Licorice taste...
ReplyDeletein real life VOTE ing offen leaves a "sour" taste!
- Marck Bowles
It was nasty. It didn’t last long in our house.
Deletemy parents used this and until i found it here, my dad and i seemed to be the only people on the planet who remembered it! as a ten year old in 1968 when it began appearing in our bathroom, i was really drawn to the cool colors, the feel of the plastic tube (yeah, i know that sounds creepy), and the stern admonition right there on the tube and the box (we really mean it kids, so we're warning you twice) that this was for adults only! i started using it secretly (i'm 10, don't treat me like a child), it was HOT and i eventually returned to my mild-mannered tube of colgate. but for a week or so in 1968 i was hip and happinin'... like my parents.
ReplyDeleteI remember they ads, they came up with the phrase "dragon mouth"
ReplyDeleteJim
Sometime in the 60's I sent away for, and received, a two foot long pillow that was a replica of a tube of Vote toothpaste. I'm 72 now but I sure do miss Vote toothpaste. I also used to buy, and now miss, a deoderant in a jar called "Odor-o-No". It had a very pleasant powdery smell.
ReplyDeleteIt looks to me like you can still order Odorono online. Of course, 5 years after your comment was posted, you may no longer care.
DeleteVote was my favorite toothpaste.
ReplyDeleteI remember it well. I was also a kid two bricks high. My parents also bought(only) it. So we HAD to use it. Horrible stuff...😂
ReplyDeleteHaha! I thought I was imagining the name but, yes, it WAS real! I remember it being the only toothpaste in the house for a hot minute. And, yes, it was hot tasting! Ugh, I hated it! Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteDid VOTE actually have gun powder in it? Or something radioactive? That stuff was HOT.
ReplyDeleteit was even advertised on a matchbook.
ReplyDeleteI used this in high school and Jr. College. When I got back to NJ I couldn't find it. I miss it still.
ReplyDelete