Word: spang
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Died. Joseph P. Spang Jr., 76, former head of the Gillette Co., who was among the first to recognize the advertising potential of sports events; of a heart attack; in Boston. "Look Sharp, Feel Sharp, Be Sharp" went the familiar razor-blade slogan, and few were sharper than Spang, who in 1939 sponsored World Series broadcasts, followed with the Kentucky Derby, football, boxing and the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports radio and TV shows-all of which helped Gillette become pre-eminent in the field, with earnings of $96 million by the time Spang retired...
...swing in big-time golf, and last week he proved that he also has the most relaxed crouch. Retrieving his ball from the scraggly rough at Miami's Doral Country Club, he resembled nothing more than a praying mantis at bay. After which he slapped his next shot spang on the green, went on to pick up $700 in the pro-am prelude to the Miami open invitational...
...move so unconventional that it left Detroit openmouthed. the Chrysler Corp. last week announced its plans to introduce a "new" Dodge next month-spang in the midst of the 1962 model year. Normally, the introduction of a new car model requires extensive retooling, which is far too costly and too time-consuming to do more than once a year. But Chrysler will turn the trick by an ingenious bit of hybridization. The new Dodge, which has been christened the "Custom 880" and which will be larger than any current Dodge model, is to be built on the chassis...
Beauty Bandwagon. Looking for an advertising campaign with special appeal to men, Spang gambled on radio sponsorship of the World Series in 1939, sold so many razors the rest of the year that he committed Gillette to the sponsorship of a Cavalcade of Sports-football bowl games, weekly fights, and racing's Triple Crown. During World War II, Spang sold the Pentagon on Gillette as the standard G.I. razor, came out of the war with 16 million permanent customers. With the domestic market nearly saturated, Gillette overhauled its overseas operations (which today account for 50% of the company...
Smooth Kisser, Buddy. Spang and Gilbert continued to diversify, bought Paper Mate pens in 1955 for $15 million, began to market a line of proprietary drugs (Thorexin, cough syrup and cough tablets) in 1957-and continued bringing out a stream of toilet accessories (latest: an aerosol deodorant) to boost Gillette sales. To combat the inroads of electric shavers, Gillette's technicians went to work to perfect a sharper, smoother-cutting Super Blue Blade (by chemically treating the edges of the steel). Introduced last year, the Super Blue now accounts for 45% of Gillette's blade sales...