Unilever Ireland really pushed Surf quite hard in the early 1990s on value for money terms, but it seems to have very much faded. They never really seem to know what to do with that brand. It’s all about scent these days, but it used to be a second tier value brand.
Omo detergent in the USA
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launderess
Well-known member
" It’s all about scent these days, but it used to be a second tier value brand."
Things vary by market.
In USA, France, UK and some other places OMO or Surf are largely all about scent.
https://www.proformula.com/uk/produ...detergent-tropical-lily-and-ylang-ylang-130w/
https://www.surf-detergent.com
https://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/home-care/surf/
OTOH in India, Africa and other markets Surf is still marketed as a "heavy duty" detergent.
Things vary by market.
In USA, France, UK and some other places OMO or Surf are largely all about scent.
https://www.proformula.com/uk/produ...detergent-tropical-lily-and-ylang-ylang-130w/
https://www.surf-detergent.com
https://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/home-care/surf/
OTOH in India, Africa and other markets Surf is still marketed as a "heavy duty" detergent.
Omo in France is the same product range as Surf in Ireland and the UK. They didn’t or currently don’t use Surf as a brand in the French market.
Also the French Unilever Persil range has no equivalent here. It’s a bit of a confusing one too - sort of natural scents focused but also sort of a second tier value brand that never quite makes its mind up.
I think tbh the second tier idea makes little sense these days as supermarket own brand are extremely good value and very competent products. Back in the 1980s that wasn’t really the case. Supermarkets here were full of very very cheaply own brand detergents, mostly made by McBride that were often very poor performers.
We used to have “Yellow Pack” in the Quinnsworth and Crazy Prices (yes, that was really a name of an Irish supermarket chain in that era …) which became synonymous with “cheap, basic and probably rubbish …”
These days the supermarket own brand household products are in a whole different league and many of them are definitely up the with mainstream brands in terms of how they perform.
So I think for the likes of Unilever or P&G etc making a second tier brand became a bit of a pointless exercise, as you were just competing with the store brands and their overheads will always be lower, and they’ve effectively no marketing costs.
Also the French Unilever Persil range has no equivalent here. It’s a bit of a confusing one too - sort of natural scents focused but also sort of a second tier value brand that never quite makes its mind up.
I think tbh the second tier idea makes little sense these days as supermarket own brand are extremely good value and very competent products. Back in the 1980s that wasn’t really the case. Supermarkets here were full of very very cheaply own brand detergents, mostly made by McBride that were often very poor performers.
We used to have “Yellow Pack” in the Quinnsworth and Crazy Prices (yes, that was really a name of an Irish supermarket chain in that era …) which became synonymous with “cheap, basic and probably rubbish …”
These days the supermarket own brand household products are in a whole different league and many of them are definitely up the with mainstream brands in terms of how they perform.
So I think for the likes of Unilever or P&G etc making a second tier brand became a bit of a pointless exercise, as you were just competing with the store brands and their overheads will always be lower, and they’ve effectively no marketing costs.
launderess
Well-known member
Old Novum from Sainsbury advert.
Quite a lot of money spent for advertising I shouldn't wonder for a private label product.
Quite a lot of money spent for advertising I shouldn't wonder for a private label product.
That was Novon, and the Sainsbury’s ad was quite unusual, but I haven’t seen any effort put into advertising laundry brands much here at all anymore. You see the odd and for Persil or Ariel, more effort seems to go into selling softeners and additives and dishwasher tablets these days.
Laundry detergent ads used to be a staple of every ad break and were high budget. They’re not anymore.
Incidentally, my username, Novum, refers to a defunct mid century Irish washing machine brand. I don’t think they quite made it into the automatic era, but were a big deal in the 50s and 60s
https://esbarchives.ie/2016/07/27/novum-washing-machine-brochure-1964/
Laundry detergent ads used to be a staple of every ad break and were high budget. They’re not anymore.
Incidentally, my username, Novum, refers to a defunct mid century Irish washing machine brand. I don’t think they quite made it into the automatic era, but were a big deal in the 50s and 60s
https://esbarchives.ie/2016/07/27/novum-washing-machine-brochure-1964/
ozzie908
Well-known member
Novum
Those washing machines especially the twin tubs have a Rolls / Colston look about them.
Never seen novum over here but have a Rolls among the collection in the shed.
Those washing machines especially the twin tubs have a Rolls / Colston look about them.
Never seen novum over here but have a Rolls among the collection in the shed.
I did a price conversion using an inflation calculator, and in modern terms the fancier of those twin tubs would cost €2000 ($2199) which putting as slightly more expensive than the a maxed out TOL Miele these days, yet it wasn't even automatic.
An automatic back then came in at the same kind of price as a small car, which probably explains why they took so long to catch on compared to the US i.e. didn't become common place until the late 60s and into the 70s.
Novum seems to still exist as a manufacturer / reseller of commercial refrigeration - display fridges etc.
I think a lot of those companies rebadged some or all of their ranges though. You can clearly see that with the Coleston washer-dryers in the 1970s, which were made by Riber and were sold under the name Thor here in Ireland and Ariston in some markets.
An automatic back then came in at the same kind of price as a small car, which probably explains why they took so long to catch on compared to the US i.e. didn't become common place until the late 60s and into the 70s.
Novum seems to still exist as a manufacturer / reseller of commercial refrigeration - display fridges etc.
I think a lot of those companies rebadged some or all of their ranges though. You can clearly see that with the Coleston washer-dryers in the 1970s, which were made by Riber and were sold under the name Thor here in Ireland and Ariston in some markets.
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