Advertising's Conventional Wisdom

Listerine was invented in the nineteenth century as a powerful surgical antiseptic. It was sold, in distilled form, as a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. Success did not come until the 1920s when it was pitched as a solution for "chronic halitosis"---an obscure medical term for bad breath. The advertising featured young women and men eager for marriage but turned off by their mate's rotten breath. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered such a catastrophe.Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis. In seven years revenues went from $155,000 to $ 8 million.