The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), based in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. Initially, the firm manufactured the country's first mass market soap, Ivory, as well as candles (Deal, 1982). As kerosene lamps gained popularity, however, soap eclipsed candles as the firm's main product and remained so through the first half of the twentieth century. However, Crisco shortening, first manufactured in the 1870s, also developed into a leading product for the company, replacing lard in the process. After that came Camay soap, in 1923; Tide, Cheer, and Joy detergents showed up in the 1940s and 1950s; Crest toothpaste was introduced in 1956; and Pampers diapers appeared in 1961. With the 1980s, the firm became a leviathan conglomerate in the consumer products field through acquisitions and mergers. Specifically, it entered businesses such as soda pop (Crush), juice (Citris Hill), over the counter pharmaceuticals (Pepto-Bismol, Metamucil, and Dramamine), fruit drinks (Hawaiian Punch and Sunny Delight), nuts (Fisher) and men's toiletries (Shulton). Overseas, the pattern has been the same, and indeed non-US sales presently account for 40 percent of the corporate total.
From the start, P&G has always functioned in a relatively competitive environment. Unlike firms involved in technology and heavy manufacturing -- such as US Steel and General Electric, where patents and product differentiation created oligopolistic industries -- P&G's products were relatively basic and simple to produce. What distinguished the firm at the outset were advertising and an orientation to customer needs. Procter & Gamble to this day is one of the most extensive advertisers in the national media, and pioneered mass advertising in both radio and television. Among the company's innovations for discovering and meeting consumer needs are testing kitchens, sampling, and market research by telephone. Thus, through mass advertising and...