Ajax

   For other things named Ajax, see Ajax

Ajax cleanser (or Ajax brand cleanser with bleach) is a powdered household and industrial cleaner introduced by Colgate-Palmolive in 1947. Its slogan was "Stronger than dirt!", a reference to the mythical character Ajax. The slogan would be used again for its Ajax Laundry Detergent, when introduced in the early-1960s, with an armed knight riding a white horse. In addition, a widely mocked commercial in the late-1970s/early-1980s declared, "Armed...with Ajax!"

The first commercial jingle heard on television in the United States was for Ajax Cleanser in 1948. The jingle was "You'll stop paying the elbow tax, when you start cleaning with Ajax".

The Ajax name was successfully transferred to an entire line of household cleaning products and detergents; the line enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and early 70s. Ajax All-Purpose Cleaner with Ammonial, introduced in 1962, was the first major competitor to Mr. Clean, which Procter and Gamble debuted in 1958. The success of the so-called "White Tornado" forced P & G to introduce its own ammoniated cleaner, Top Job, beginning in 1963.

Other Ajax products included Ajax Bucket of Power, an ammoniated powder floor cleaner, introduced in 1963; Ajax Laundry Detergent in 1964; Ajax Window Cleaner with Hexammonia in 1965, and a short-lived spray cleaner in 1967. The last successful Ajax line extension, Ajax for Dishes, debuted in 1971; now known as Ajax Dishwashing Liquid, it and the flagship powdered cleanser are the only two Ajax products sold to consumers by Colgate. The brand name continues on a line of institutional detergents, cleaners and disinfectants. Colgate-Palmolive Company sold the U. S. and Canadian rights to the Ajax brand name on laundry detergents, as well as to other laundry products as Fab and Cold Power, to Phoenix Brands in 2005. Ajax Laundry Detergent was available in a liquid formula, with and without bleach alternative, beginning in the mid 1980s.

[edit] Ajax Spray n' Wipe

In addition to Ajax Laundry Detergent, Ajax Dishwashing Liquid, & Ajax cleanser, there are three Spray n' Wipe products available. These products (an all-purpose cleaner, a bathroom cleaner, and a window cleaner) are particularly well-known in Australia & New Zealand, where they are among the market leaders. A number of memorable, if widely panned, television commercials were produced from around 1988 onwards, which were all accompanied with the same music & featured Paula Duncan. An example of a Spray n' Wipe commercial went: Oh help! They're here too soon for dinner/The boss & his wife Linda/an overdressed hyena/it ruined my demeanor/'Cause the bathroom was still dirty/thanks to Derek, Dave & Bertie/Bathroom Spray n' Wipe/will make it really clean/Spray n' Wipe's the one/To cut through tough soap scum/The bathroom couldn't be cleaner/Outfoxed that old hyena/So thank you, Spray n' Wipe! The Spray 'n Wipe series was unique in that Paula Duncan and the same family members were used in all the commercials, the latest of which is believed to have been aired in the late 1990s.

[edit] Popular Culture

   * In the film Up In Smoke, the character Anthony Stoner accidentally knocks an open can of Ajax powder onto a paper plate. He is amused by its aesthetic similarity to cocaine and divides it into the common form of consumption, lines. A previously unintroduced and unnamed female character, obviously intoxicated, enters the scene. Before Anthony Stoner is able to explain the situation, the female character proceeds to insuffulate a large quantity of Ajax. In the film, she appears to become intoxicated, though it is important to note, this would be extremely harmful.
   * The predecessor band to the Outsiders, the Starfires had a minor hit in the Cleveland area with an instrumental called "Stronger than Dirt", which featured the tune as well as occasional hoofbeats, presumably from the white knight on horseback that was featured in the original television commercial that introduced this tagline.
   * In The Doors song Touch Me, the original melody used for "Stronger than dirt" is played at the end of the song.
   * In The Simpsons episode "Lard of the Dance", Groundskeeper Willie is seen to be cleansing himself with Ajax powder.
   * The Ancient Greek warrior's name being 'taken in vain' is the subject of a one-liner in Eddie Izzard's routine about the Trojan War - "Achilles, mighty warrior.....Ajax, mighty toilet cleaner"
   * The product's slogan was parodied in this joke: "Ex-Lax, cleans like a white tornado."

[edit] External links

   * Ajax product page
   * Colgate home page (manufacturer of Ajax)

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