Mr. Clean (or Mr. Proper) is a brand name and mascot owned by
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...
. It was used for an
all-purpose cleaner and later also for a
melamine foam
A " Mr. Clean Magic Eraser" brand sponge, made from melamine foam
Melamine foam is a foam-like material consisting of a melamine-formaldehyde condensate. It is the active component of a number of abrasive cleaner sponges, notably the Magic Era ...
abrasive sponge.
The all-purpose cleaner was originally formulated by Linwood Burton, a marine ship cleaning businessman with accounts throughout the east coast of the United States and his friend, Mathusan Chandramohan, a rich entrepreneur from
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
.
Mr. Clean made his television commercial debut in 1958, initially portrayed in the live-action versions by character actor
House Peters Jr.
International versions
The name "Clean" is usually translated in languages:
* Don Limpio in Spain; originally Mr. Proper
* Maestro Limpio in Mexico
* Mastro Lindo in Italy
* Meister Proper in Germany
* Mr. Proper in the Netherlands, Flanders and Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine
* M. Net in French Canada
* Monsieur Propre in France
In the UK and Ireland, the product is sold under the brand name Flash; this is because a company exists that uses the "Mr. Clean" name. Furthermore, Flash does not use a mascot, unlike Mr. Clean. For many years Flash was advertised on UK television by Scottish actress
Molly Weir
Mary Weir (17 March 1910 – 28 November 2004), known as Molly Weir, was a Scottish actress. She appeared as the character Hazel the McWitch in the BBC TV series '' Rentaghost''.
She was the sister of naturalist and broadcaster Tom Weir.
Biog ...
, with the catchphrase "Flash cleans floors WITHOUT scratching". Since 2016, adverts for Flash have included parodies of the song "
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Barry Allen
** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...
" by
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
.
In the 1980s, Uldarico L. Lacida of Secure Promotions promoted Mr. Clean products in Cebu, Philippines.
Mascot
The product's mascot is the character Mr. Clean. In 1957, Harry Barnhart conceived the idea.
The Mr. Clean character was developed in 1957 by the Tatham-Laird & Kudner advertising agency in Chicago for Procter & Gamble. Ernest C. Allen, a member of the agency’s art department, is believed to have contributed to the concept development. The first visual depiction of Mr. Clean was created by Austrian-American commercial artist Frederick “Fritz” Siebel, who was commissioned by the agency to illustrate the character. Siebel also created several early print advertisements and the original packaging illustration for the product.
According to Procter & Gamble, the original model for the image of Mr. Clean was a
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...
from the city of
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, although some people may think he is a
genie
GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange) was an online service provider, online service created by a General Electric business, GEIS (now GXS Inc., GXS), that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around ...
based on his earring, folded arms, and tendency to appear magically at the appropriate time. (One of the live-action commercials has a character directly refer to Mr. Clean as a genie).
Hal Mason, the head animator at Cascade Studios in Hollywood, California modified the existing artwork in
print-advertising to be more readily used for the
television commercial
A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
s written, produced, and directed by
Thomas Scott Cadden. (Cadden also wrote the words and music for the original Mr. Clean jingle — see below.) The first actor to portray Mr. Clean in live action television commercials was
House Peters Jr.
In a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' obituary for the original illustrator,
Richard Black
Harry Richard Black (October 10, 1921 – March 30, 2014) was an American commercial artist, illustrator, and portraitist. Black created the original Mr. Clean mascot for Procter & Gamble's household cleaner during the 1950s.
Biography Early l ...
, the product Mr. Clean was referenced to as the "Genie in a bottle".
Mr. Clean has always smiled, except for a brief time in the "Mean Mr. Clean" series of ads when he was frowning because he hated dirt. Although Mr. Clean is the strong, silent type, he did speak once in a few television commercials where actor Mark Dana appeared playing Mr. Clean in a
suit-and-tie in the mid-1960s.
Mr. Clean's first name, Veritably, originated from a 'Give Mr. Clean a First Name' promotion in 1962.
In 2005, Mr. Clean was shown in
MasterCard's "Icons" commercial during
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NF ...
, which depicts advertising mascots having dinner together, where he is shown helping do the dishes, and receives some dirty ones from
Charlie the Tuna.
Mr. Clean appeared on the September 2010 cover of ''Biz X Magazine''.
Mr. Clean was redesigned by Chase Design Group.
On September 8, 2016, Procter & Gamble announced a contest to find the replacement Mr. Clean. The contest was introduced with a new 60-second spot with actor
Kellan Lutz
Kellan Christopher Lutz (born March 15, 1985) is an American actor, martial artist and model. He made his film debut in '' Stick It'' (2006), and is best known for playing Emmett Cullen in ''The Twilight Saga'' film series (2008–2012). He has ...
spoofing an audition reel for the Mr. Clean role that took place in August 2016 Los Angeles, California. In addition to casting sessions at 404 NYC in New York on September 7, 2016, and Envision Studios LA in Los Angeles on September 14, 2016, contestants could also submit videos to the contest web site. The contest winner would receive $20,000 in mid-October, and be featured in the 2017 limited edition Mr. Clean calendar.
Jingle
Mr. Clean's theme song, or
jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
, has been around since the product's introduction, initially sung as a popular-music style duet between a man (
Don Cherry
Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. He played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins. After concluding a playing career in the A ...
) and a woman (Betty Bryan).
Thomas Scott Cadden wrote the jingle at his home in
Skokie, Illinois
Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a Village (United States), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's dow ...
in the spring of 1957 while working for Tatham-Laird & Kudner Advertising Agency. The vocal and piano recording was made on a home tape recorder for presentation to the agency and later to Procter & Gamble. Procter & Gamble approved the jingle in the spring or summer of 1957. Thomas Scott Cadden produced the recording of the jingle at
Universal Recording Corporation
Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio in Chicago founded by Bill Putnam, Sr. for the purpose of investigating new recording techniques and the development of specialized recording equipment.
Universal Recording was seminal i ...
in Chicago in the summer or fall of 1957. Bill Walker was the arranger and Don Cherry and Betty Bryan were the singers. In January or February 1958, Cadden produced and wrote the first pool of television commercials — nine one-minute commercials and four 20-second "lifts". Included was the original full 60-second jingle commercial and the 10-second jingle "tag" at the end of all the others. They were produced at Cascade Pictures in Hollywood, California. The first pool of commercials ran in August 1958 at WDTV/KDKA in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
the year the product was introduced. The jingle is copyrighted under numbers EU 589219 & EU 599220. The jingle is also registered with
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
under title code 570098598 & 570006267.
In 2016, an updated reboot of the jingle was made for a
television advertisement
A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
. It is the longest running advertising jingle used in television history.
Original lyrics by
Thomas Scott Cadden:
Chorus:
''Mr. Clean gets rid of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute!''
''Mr. Clean will clean your whole house and everything that's in it!''
Verse 1:
''Floors, doors, walls, halls, white sidewall tires, and old golf balls!''
''Sinks, stoves, bathtubs he'll do, he'll even help clean laundry too!''
(Repeat Chorus)
Verse 2:
''Can he clean a kitchen sink?''
''Quicker than a wink!''
''Can he clean a window sash?''
''Faster than a flash!''
''Can he clean a dirty mirror?''
''He'll make it bright & clearer!''
''Can he clean a diamond ring?''
''Mr. Clean cleans anything!''
(Repeat Chorus)
''Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean!''
Reboot lyrics:
''Mr. Clean gets tough on dirt and grime''
''And grease in just a minute''
''Mr. Clean will clean your whole house''
''And every room that's in it.''
''Floors, doors, walls, halls''
''He's so tough he cleans them all''
''Grimy tubs and tiles he'll do''
''so your bathroom looks clean as new!''
''Mr. Clean gets tough on stuck on stuff''
''cleans kitchens in a minute''
''Mr. Clean will clean your whole house''
''And every room that's in it.''
''Mr. Clean!''
''Mr. Clean!''
''Mr. Clean!''
In the Philippines, Mr. Clean has had multiple jingles in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s titled "Kuskos Piga" (transl. Scrub Squeeze), then "Labadami Labanbango", performed by
Sylvia La Torre
Sylvia Reyes La Torre-Perez de Tagle (June 4, 1933 – December 1, 2022) was a Filipino singer, actress, and radio star.
Early life
La Torre was born on June 4, 1933, to director Olive La Torre and actress Leonora Reyes.
Career Singing
La Tor ...
(1984) and
Nova Villa
Novelita Acosta Villanueva Gallegos (born April 16, 1946), better known by her stage name, Nova Villa, is a Filipino actress. Known primarily as the "Goddess of Comedy", she is regarded as one of the pillars in Philippine entertainment and is ...
(1995), then "Labadami Labango Labalinis" by
Ali Sotto
Ali Sotto (; born Maria Aloha Leilani Sancianco Carag; May 29, 1961) is a Filipino actress, radio broadcaster and news anchor and former singer. Her previous screen name was Aloha and now Ali Sotto. She was popularly heard on Net 25 programs ...
and
Manilyn Reynes
Manilyn Reynes (born Manilyn Villamor Reynes on April 27, 1972), professionally known as Manilyn Reynes, is a multi-awarded Filipina actress, singer and television presenter. She is regarded as a Philippine pop culture icon and dubbed as the St ...
in 1997 and 1998 respectively, and "Walang Dagdag Fabcon, Walang Dagdag Gastos" (transl. No Extra Fabcon, No Extra Cost) in 2009, performed by
Sarah Geronimo
Sarah Asher Tua Geronimo-Guidicelli ( ; born July 25, 1988) is a Filipino singer and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Sarah Geronimo, Her accolades include a Billboard Women in Music, ''Billboard'' Women in Music Award, an ...
. She is the last endorser before being replaced by Bonux in 2010.
Mr. Clean scenes competition
In 1998,
Honda Motor Co. created an advertising campaign, including a television commercial, featuring Mr. Clean to represent Honda's clean running
Accord
Accord may refer to:
Businesses and products
* Honda Accord, a car manufactured by the Honda Motor Company
* Accord (cigarette), a brand of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges
* Accord (company), a former public services provider in south England
* Accord ...
along with other Honda products including lawnmowers, string trimmers, motorcycles, and marine engines.
In March 2007, Mr. Clean launched an online competition with
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
that gave consumers the opportunity to create a commercial advertising the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
The competition ran through June 30, 2007. In September 2007, the $10,000 prize was awarded to the creator of the winning video "Here's to Stains".
References
External links
*
Mr Clean Multi Surfaces Liquid Ultimate Orange ingredient list
{{Procter & Gamble
Products introduced in 1958
Advertising characters
Male characters in advertising
Mascots introduced in 1958
Cleaning product brands
Procter & Gamble brands
Corporate mascots
Sexuality in popular culture