Mr. Bubble Celebrates 60 Years of Cleaning Up Kids

Among the countless products that Americans buy, only a relative handful have found success by advancing two selling propositions at the same time. There’s Miller Lite (“Tastes great! Less filling!”) and Arm & Hammer baking soda. And, to date, the makers of WD-40 have confirmed some 2,000 uses for their product. Far less known, though, is the double-barreled selling proposition that belongs to a bulbous pink bottle that’s been a fixture on store shelves for 60 years now. We speak, friends, of Mr. Bubble. As is evident by both the name and the alarmingly happy bubble grinning at you on the label, Mr. Bubble excels at creating suds. It is, in fact, the bestselling bubble bath formula in the United States. And since many kids like bubble baths, it’s often youngsters who bug their parents for some Mr. Bubble. But from its founding day in 1961, Mr. Bubble found its way into shopping carts by touting the fact that it also eliminated bathtub rings and, hence, saved parents housework. “On the very first box, [they] put a child on the front taking a bubble bath and then a woman on the back taking a bubble bath,” recounted Michelle Hanson, vice president of marketing for Mr. Bubble owner The Village Company. “So the stores could have either side facing out based on who their core consumer for this product was. And that’s really what Mr. Bubble is still about today: making mom’s life easy in terms of getting kids in the tub, and you don’t have to clean your tub when they get out.” Put another way: If you have a value proposition that works, you keep it. Credit for that proposition goes to a North Dakota entrepreneur named Harold Schafer. After his Gold Seal Company had a hit with a product called Glass Floor Wax in the 1950s, Schafer came up with Snowy Bleach (another hit), then Mr. Bubble. Promising to “bubble kids clean,” the magical soap in the pink box was just the thing for the harried postwar mom who welcomed the formula’s dual ability to distract junior as it cleaned the tub. It’s probably Mr. Bubble’s ubiquitous presence in American childhoods that explains how it’s popped up in so many movies and TV shows. And as a reassuring rite of cleanliness and relaxation, it’s no accident that the pandemic period has led to a rise in Mr. Bubble sales. “Parents are home with kids. They're trying to find things for them to do, and taking a bubble bath … kids can do it for sometimes hours if you let them,” Hanson said. Good clean entertainment Harold Schafer (1) introduced Mr. Bubble in 1961, cleverly packaging it in a box that featured both a kid and a mom (2) so store owners could choose their target customer. Over the years, the Mr. Bubble mascot has undergone several tweaks (3) but remains largely the same. The formula became a liquid in 1972, spurring promos like this bank. Mr. Bubble also comes in these Bath Crackles, which 'pop and snap when you pour them into water,' the brand promises (4). Bathing with the stars In March of last year, Stephen Colbert, forced by the pandemic to suspend taping of The Late Show, decided to tape a 'very special social distancing edition' of his program. His choice of venue? His bathtub. And his special guest? Mr. Bubble. Hanson said the company had 'no idea' Colbert was going to feature its brand, but that 'these things happen quite frequently.' Starting with Steve Martin taking a bubble bath in 1979’s The Jerk, Mr. Bubble has turned up everywhere from The Simpsons to The Big Lebowski to Family Guy. Another fan is Chrissy Teigen, who put her Mr. Bubble soak on Instagram earlier this year.

Perspective

Mr. Bubble Celebrates 60 Years of Cleaning Up Kids—and the Tubs They're Playing In

Through rebrands, the soap company has kept its cute, pink mascot

Robert Klara

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Robert Klara