That ain't the way I heard it, McGee
Cheer was never sold as a laundry soap...only Duz and Oxydol were sold first as soaps and then detergents. Oxydol soap was discontinued in 1952 when "New Detergent Formula Oxydol" was introduced. Duz Detergent ("Blue Dot Duz with Bluinite" was launched circa 1956, but was renamed "Premium Duz" when the Golden Wheat China was added to each box in 1959.)
Here is a 1953 Cheer ad that shows small cartoons of both an automatic washer and a wringer washer...and I do mean small!
"Rinso WHITE! Rinso WHITE!" referred to Rinso SOAP powder; Unilever launched a Rinso BLUE detergent circa 1954; David Ogilvy, in his book, Confessions of an Advertising Man (out of print, since it was written originally in 1965), admitted he wrote a horrendously bad commercial jingle to announce that Rinso was available as a soap and as a detergent, to the tune of "Boys and Girls Come Out to Play":
"Rinso White and Rinso Blue,
Soap or detergent--it's up to you!
Each washes whiter and brighter than new,
The choice, dear lady, is up to you!"
