Spiffits are a group of
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...
ed products, launched in April 1989 as the first complete line of pre-moistened household cleaning towelettes.
The line included a glass cleaner, furniture polish, a soft scouring cleanser, bathroom cleaner and a multi-surface cleaner and competed against similar individual products sold under the
Lysol
Lysol (; spelled Lizol in India) is a brand of American cleaning and disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt, which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and soft surfaces, air ...
,
Pledge
Pledge may refer to:
Promises
* a solemn promise
* Abstinence pledge, a commitment to practice abstinence, usually teetotalism or chastity
* The Pledge (New Hampshire), a promise about taxes by New Hampshire politicians
* Pledge of Allegiance ...
,
Clorox
The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...
and
Endust brands. The Spiffits towelettes were manufactured by DowBrands, the consumer products division of the
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world.
Dow manufactures plastic ...
at the time. The product was launched with an $18 million-dollar advertising campaign developed by Henderson Advertising, of
Greenville, South Carolina. The ad campaign featured animated Spiffits "spokesboxes", produced using single-frame stop-motion filming techniques and moldable rubber box puppets, considered an innovative animation technique at the time.
Ironically, Spiffits, DowBrands, and Henderson Advertising have all disappeared from the American marketing landscape, however the legacy of pre-moistened cleaning towels has flourished and become a staple in many of America's homes today.
In 1998, Dow disposed of the primary components of its consumer products division to
S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. for US$1.125 billion. The transaction included the intellectual properties associated with the division, including the Spiffits trademarks.
Sources
#Advertising Age, February 19, 1990;
#M. Klein, former Henderson Advertising executive;
#The Dow Chemical Company, Form 10-K filed 24 March 1999
Cleaning products
{{Product-stub