Jules Bernard Montenier (March 23, 1895 – August 20, 1962), of Chicago, Illinois, was an American
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
and a cosmetic chemist. He founded Jules Montenier, Inc., a
cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...
company, and invented Stopette, an
antiperspirant
A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent or mask body odor caused by bacterial breakdown of perspiration, for example in the armpits, groin, or feet. A subclass of deodorants, called antiperspirants, prevents sweating itself, t ...
that was a longtime sponsor of the CBS game show ''
What's My Line?''. Stopette's
slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...
, repeated at the beginning of the episodes Montenier's company sponsored, was "Poof! There goes perspiration." Montenier was described in the introduction segment of ''
What's My Line?'' as "the famous cosmetic
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
."
Patents and innovations
Montenier held a number of
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
s. Arguably, his most notable patent is US patent no. 2,230,084, a January 28, 1941, patent for "Astringent preparation". This patent dealt with solving the problem of the excessive acidity of
aluminum chloride (then, as now, the best-working antiperspirant known to chemistry), by adding a soluble
nitrile
In organic chemistry, a nitrile is any organic compound that has a functional group. The name of the compound is composed of a base, which includes the carbon of the , suffixed with "nitrile", so for example is called " propionitrile" (or pr ...
or a similar compound. This innovation found its way into Stopette antiperspirant/
deodorant
A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent or mask body odor caused by bacterial breakdown of perspiration, for example in the armpits, groin, or feet. A subclass of deodorants, called antiperspirants, prevents sweating itself, t ...
spray, which ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' called "the best-selling deodorant of the early 1950s"; a virtually identical patent was granted in the United Kingdom as GB0527439.
Montenier also holds a patent for the ornamental design of his Stopette bottle (US Design Patent D168,109),
the shape of which was on the scorecards of ''
What's My Line?'' when Stopette sponsored the show.
Montenier also holds a patent for the "Unitary container and atomizer for liquids" (US patent no. 2,642,313); this was developed in 1947 when Montenier, working with engineers from the Plax Corporation, invented a commercial use for the
plastic bottle. His innovation was for Stopette, an underarm
deodorant
A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent or mask body odor caused by bacterial breakdown of perspiration, for example in the armpits, groin, or feet. A subclass of deodorants, called antiperspirants, prevents sweating itself, t ...
dispensed by squeezing the bottle. This invention created a huge demand in the industry for the plastic bottle; for the first time, plastic was competing with glass for this type of packaging.
Montenier also holds a patent for a fanciful design for a shaving bowl (US design patent D143,437).
''What's My Line?''
In the opening segment that featured Stopette, Jules Montenier, Inc. also advertised "Poof! Deodorant Body Powder" and "Finesse, the Flowing Cream Shampoo" in the same segment. In mid-1953, Montenier himself was pictured in the opening segment after the products were mentioned.
Sponsorship of the show
During the first two episodes of ''
What's My Line?'' in 1950, the production value was very poor. While everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong on the first show, the second show was arguably as bad. If anything, the camera work was worse. CBS liked many elements of the show, but the production value had to be improved. CBS knew that a potential sponsor could be watching the third show, so it issued an ultimatum: Either a sponsor would pick up the show, or the show would be history.
Franklin M. Heller, one of television's pioneering directors, essentially saved the show. He felt that the biggest problems with the show were too much camera movement and lens changing. Heller said, "I figured once I could get those cameramen and their flowered shirts controlled and fairly immobile, we might be able to let this show emerge."
To fix the problem, Heller changed the format of the set so that the cameras would remain stationary. He also placed moderator
John Daly and the panel in different places so that the entrances and exits would not look as awkward. In addition, before the third show, Heller requested an hour rehearsal for the camera crew with mock panelists and contestants. That rehearsal gave the camera operators a better "feel" for how the show should go.
At the end of the third show, Dr. Montenier called CBS and, according to Heller, said, "I don't know what you did to it, but I'll buy it." For the next eight years, either as the sole or alternating sponsor, Stopette was the advertising face of ''What's My Line?''
Bennett Cerf explained to Montenier that ''What's My Line?'' "ruined the poor man." Cerf said that when ''What's My Line?'' first started, none of the big companies wanted to sponsor the program. He said that everyone thought the program would last for a few months and die out, but the program "caught fire" in the ratings. Cerf noted that as the program spread from city to city, its advertising costs continued to rise accordingly. Montenier was very proud of the program, but he refused to have a co-sponsor. According to Cerf, Montenier stuck with ''What's My Line?'' until the program ruined him. At its peak, ''What's My Line?'' was running in nearly every city across the country. Cerf said that the advertising costs became so enormous that Montenier was unable to sell enough Stopette to make up for it. Eventually, Montenier was forced to sell, and this, according to Cerf, broke his heart.
When he died, according to Cerf, cartoons appeared with the caption, "Poof! There goes Dr. Montenier!"
Mystery Guest appearance
Montenier himself appeared on the February 12, 1956 episode of ''What's My Line?'' as a Mystery Guest. As he signed in, he was identified on-screen as "Dr. Jules Montenier, Creator & Manufacturer of Stopette"; his "line" was "Our Sponsor (For Past Six Years)." Prior to their guesses, the panel was given the hint that Montenier was self-employed. The panel failed to guess Montenier's line correctly; he "stumped the panel and won the game," as Daly's successor as moderator,
Wally Bruner, preferred to phrase it. It turned out that the purpose of Montenier's visit was to give his belated congratulations to the show for its six years on television. Daly said that Montenier was a good sponsor because he refused to interfere with the production of the show. Montenier, in return, said that he loved the show and watched it each Sunday.
Montenier remained seated during his entire appearance, after which the program went directly to a commercial; guests on the program customarily walked in and sat next to the host and walked to greet the panelists after their appearance. The audience was not given any explanation for this change, but some viewers would have read in the newspapers that Montenier had had his left leg
amputated as the result of a car crash at the end of May 1954. His wife Helen had been killed in the same accident.
Impact on the time slot and broadcast markets
''What's My Line?'' did not begin its life on Sunday nights. After Montenier's Stopette deodorant became the show's primary sponsor in March 1950, CBS moved the show from Thursdays at 8:00 to an alternating-week basis on Wednesdays at 9:00. Eventually, due largely to pressure to get higher caliber guests on the show, the show was moved back to 10:30 p.m. on Sunday nights. Since most Broadway plays closed at 10:00 p.m. at the time, this gave those actors plenty of time to get there. Montenier and his ad agency agreed with the move, and CBS agreed to reimburse the sponsor for viewers lost due to the move.
[TVgameshows.net]
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Jules Montenier, Inc.'s sponsorship of ''
What's My Line?'' caused nearly a third of the United States not to see the show until 1956. The reason was that the company's ad agency controlled the time slot and would not buy the slot in markets where Jules Montenier's products were not sold. Notable markets that were missing the show until the late 1950s included
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...
;
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...
;
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
;
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...
;
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...
;
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
;
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...
;
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...
; and
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
.
In 1956, Jules Montenier, Inc. was sold to
Helene Curtis Industries, Inc., thereby giving the products a national market and thus enabling ''
What's My Line?'' to be shown nationwide.
Popular culture
The ''Harvard Lampoon,'' forerunner of the ''
National Lampoon,'' once had a cartoon of Montenier shooting through the top of a building, with the caption “Poof! There goes Dr. Montenier.” Of this,
Cerf said of Montenier, "He was a sweet man—but a bit of a fraud, you know."
Company legacy
As Cerf noted, the 1956 sale of his company to Helene Curtis broke Montenier's heart. In 1996,
Unilever
Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...
, the large British-Dutch corporation, purchased Helene Curtis and retains ownership of all Helene Curtis patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montenier, Jules
American cosmetics businesspeople
20th-century American chemists
1895 births
1962 deaths
20th-century American inventors