Fresh Ideas That Leave a Good Taste In Your Mouth

There are plenty of ideas that leave a bad taste in your mouth (especially in an election year), but I ran across a fresh new idea that is designed to leave a good taste in your mouth.

This is not a paid or endorsed post (although I did use a referral link to the website), it’s just my response to an advertisement I saw for a new twist on a very old product that spoke directly to my marketing brain. I spent awhile thinking about why it hit as such a brilliant idea and I wanted to share it with you.

The Colgate company sold the first mass-produced toothpaste in 1873 (it was packaged in a jar). Prior to that, most people used a tooth cleaning powder. A toothpaste was invented in the 1850s, but it wasn’t packaged and sold in large quantities until Colgate began their production run. The tube of toothpaste came along about 20 years afterward in the 1890s.

After that, not much changed. A few different brands and logos, some lines that focused on whitening, At some point gels were introduced and the swirls of gels and paste. Not much to grab the headlines, and most people are willing to substitute one brand for another if their first choice is out of stock.

But the other day I saw a pre-roll ad on YouTube (don’t let people tell you advertising doesn’t work!) for a new idea for toothpaste from Dr. Squatch — a men’s soap company. I became aware of Dr. Squatch 6-months to a year ago when I saw anothe rof their YouTube ads promoting their soap company in a fun and humorous way that reminded me of Dollar Shave Club. I tried their soap and thought it was pretty good (though I didn’t subscribe to their ongoing mail-order soap service). Similarly, seeing their new ad for toothpaste immediately compelled me to get out my credit card and order some to try out for myself.

Here are the fresh ideas and brilliant marketing bits that I think are worth brushing up on…

They don’t sell just one tube of toothpaste — it’s a set of two different toothpastes
Dr. Squatch’s Toothpaste Kit includes a citrus-mint tube intended for mornings that contains “a blast of peppermint”, Vitamin B12. and Ginseng to wipe out your morning breath and give a boost to your day — and a second tube of spearmint flavored toothpaste intended for night-time use that include extra whitening ingredients to combat staining while you sleep, along with Chamomile and Eucalyptus Oil to help you relax into a peaceful slumber.

How often do you go through an entire tube of toothpaste and need to replace it… every month or two? Right out of the gate, these guys found a reason to sell you two tubes of toothpaste.

Purpose beyond paste
The creative new formulas don’t just clean your teeth. The morning paste is going to start your day smarter with add-on ingredients to help boost your immune system and get you thinking more clearly. The evening paste is not only going to make your teeth whiter, but it’s also going to help you relax and get to sleep faster and make your nights more restful.

A new story
The team at Dr. Squatch didn’t just come up with a new brand of toothpaste — they came up with a new story to tell yourself about the toothpaste you buy. With the description of how hard their toothpaste works and its ability to provide more value than simply getting your teeth clean and freshening your breath (which any and all other brands also lay claim to), it makes all the competing brands of toothpaste sound like lazy slackers by comparison

Humor
Jeffrey Gitomer (the guy who has influenced my career and sales ability more than anyone else) is always saying “Think ‘funny’ first” in regard to making sales. “If you can make ’em laugh, you can make ’em buy”. Well, Dr. Squatch made me laugh when I saw their first video about their soaps and I bought. Their new video about toothpaste made me laugh as well — and I bought again.

Shareability
Dr. Squatch made it easy to tell other people about their products by sharing their YouTube video and to tell the unique story about how their toothpaste is different than others (like I just did by telling you about them).